


Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

by AbigailMeghan



Series: Storybook Island [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Canon, Background Relationships, Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, But it's very similar, Canon-Typical Violence, Cousins, Developing Friendships, Dimension Travel, Family Secrets, Fandom Allusions & Cliches & References, Hogwarts Inter-House Friendships, Hufflepuff Representation, Hufflepuff/Ravenclaw Inter-House Relationships, Hufflepuff/Slytherin Inter-House Relationships, Other characters not in tags, Portals, Ravenclaw Representation, Storybook Island, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-23
Updated: 2020-08-23
Packaged: 2021-03-07 03:02:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 35,997
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26020006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbigailMeghan/pseuds/AbigailMeghan
Summary: Abby and Meghan transport themselves to the Order of the Phoenix, making friends, crushes, and strained relationships with those around them. Not to worry, though. They know how the story goes, they can avoid disaster.But then, because of their presence, canon starts to change
Series: Storybook Island [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1888324
Kudos: 4





	Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

**Author's Note:**

> Abby's POV

Find anything good?" I asked Meghan, watching her dig through the chests of books. 

"A lot. But I'm trying to find the least dangerous story to enter." 

"Boring. Ooo, what's this?" I asked, picking up a beautiful copy of Harry Potter.

Meghan looked at it and immediately shook her head. "Nuh-uh. The Order of the Phoenix? That's a death trap. There's the Inquisitorial Squad, remember? And Umbridge? And Voldemort? The Ministry?" 

"It'll be fine." 

"No way. If anything, let's enter The Prisoner of Azkaban. Or The Goblet of Fire. Much safer." 

"Right but there's so much more of just Hogwarts life in The Order of the Phoenix. We can be regular students, Meghan! Please!" 

"No!" 

"You can pick next, anything you want," I promised. 

She squinted, eyeing me. "Carry On by Rainbow Rowell?" 

"Yes!" 

"But you have to read it before we go." Meghan had been trying to get me to read that book for forever. It was her favorite. I didn't know why I was procrastinating, but I was. 

I nodded quickly. "Yes, yes, sure!" 

A pause. "Fine." 

I cheered and ran over to the portal, pushing the book inside. The space between the branches began to swirl and light up blue, sparks flickering in it. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed Meghan's hand. "Ready?" 

"Let's go." 

We stepped through the portal together and toppled out onto the grass of Number 4 Privet Drive. Beside us was a shimmering puddle, our way back. I scanned the setting, spotting Harry Potter under the open window to the house. He had his back to us and, luckily, hadn't seen anything. 

I grabbed Meghan's wrist and pulled her off of the Dursley's property toward the street. "That was a close one." 

"Yeah. Okay, how long until Hogwarts starts?" 

"I don't know, a while. Like, ten chapters. Harry has the whole hearing and there's Grimmauld place, the Order, yadda, yadda, yadda at the start. It takes some time before he goes to Hogwarts. I think we should go find Diagon Alley and get a room at the Leaky Cauldron or something. Plus, we can get our stuff for school." 

Meghan slapped her forehead. "We don't have letters! How are we supposed to-" 

An owl swooped down from the sky, dropping letters into each of our hands, then continued toward Number 4 as we continued walking down the street. Hastily, we tore open our letters. I read through the letter happily and found the list of items we needed for school. 

"That was really convenient." 

"Guess that means we're magic." 

"Guess so." 

***

Finding the Leaky Cauldron was the worst. It wasn't marked so Muggles wouldn't find it, and we tried to use our extensive Harry Potter knowledge that told us it was on Charing Cross Road, but I had never been to London and Meghan didn't remember going when she was very, very little, so that wasn't very useful. It didn't help that, turns out, the English people aren't as polite as they were portrayed in the movies and cussed about twenty times more. Maybe we were just in a rough area. Worst, there was no cell signal since smartphones didn't exist in 1996, so Google Maps didn't work. But eventually, with a lot of signs, our memory of the books, and a crapload of luck, we found our way. 

"Room for two, please," I requested, handing over some pounds we had exchanged at a bank for what little money we had on us. 

The witch at the desk, picked it up, examining it. "We only accept galleons." 

Crap. That's right. Wizard currency. "Okay, how far to Gringotts? Sorry, we've just never been here before." 

"I can tell." She slid the money back. "Down the street, first right, two lefts, and you'll be there." 

"Thanks." I stuffed the money back in my pocket and left through the second door in the pub that led to Diagon Alley. Immediately, I was overcome by the magic of it all, no pun intended. 

Meghan's eyes widened. "Holy crap. This is way cooler than the one at Universal Studios." 

It was nuts. There were robe shops, restaurants, displays, animals, wizards, and witches all over the place. We, of course, visited every single shop along the alley. Meghan, ever the genius, made use of this by offering to clean bathrooms or other tasks that needed to be done at each shop for money, which we made quickly. People were very sympathetic to us when we told them that we were really poor and couldn't afford robes for school. 

"Okay, we've got a lot of money, I think," I said, looking at the coins in our pockets. "Maybe we should start getting our stuff." 

"Good idea. What's first on the list?" 

"Robes. But we haven't been sorted by the sorting hat!" 

She shrugged. "It's fine, we both took the Pottermore quiz. That's, like, basically the same thing. No one will notice if we just slip in with the rest of the students, there are hundreds of them." 

"Fair point." 

We went to Madam Milken's and entered. It was busy with students browsing the racks of robes and a line of posh wizards and witches waiting to get tailored robes. I made my way to the Hufflepuff section and slipped on one robe. Too big. I tried another. Too small. 

Meghan tapped my shoulder and I turned around. "Yeah?" 

"What do you think?" She asked, spinning around in her Ravenclaw robes.

"Nice." 

She looked at the robe I hadn't yet taken off. "That one is way too small for you." 

"I know," I took it off and hung it back up, grabbing another and putting it on. "How about this one?" 

"Looks good to me. Did you check the prices? I made a chart comparing wizard's money to Muggle money. I need to analyze prices." 

I had no idea how she did that or when, but I didn't ask- just looked at the tag. "Three galleons." 

She nodded, looking down at the chart she had assembled. "Okay, that's about $75. Into pounds, that's... around 60 pounds. Plus we each need a pointed hat, a pair of dragon hide protective gloves, and a winter cloak... We made a lot of money, but that's a bunch of stuff... hang on..." 

My head hurt just watching her do the math, but she finally figured it all out and took us to the register, purchasing three of each robe and two hats. We finally left, items in a bag, examining the list. 

"What's next?" Meghan asked. 

"Wands," I grinned.

Finding Olivander's wasn't hard, there were tons of first-year students inside. I felt very out of place, being so much older, the same age as a fifth year. 

When we finally reached the desk, the crinkly old man smiled, looking at me. "Hmm. I know just the wand for you." 

He retrieved a box from the shelves behind him and I opened it. It was a pretty wand with light wood. "What is it?" 

"Cyprus wood, twelve and three-quarters inches, unyielding flexibility, unicorn hair," Olivander replied. Funny, that was what my Pottermore wand was. 

I flicked it and the room got much brighter very suddenly. "Whoa!" 

"Perfect. And for you..." he started, examining Meghan. Olivander turned fretfully and handed her a wand. "Try that one." 

Meghan gave it a flick and boxes fell off shelves. "Sorry!" 

"Not that one..." He gave her another. "Here." 

More hesitantly, Meghan flicked the wand. Wind whooshed around the room but caused no destruction. Olivander smiled. "Yes, that is the one. Dragon heartstring core, rosewood, nine and a half, yielding flexibility." 

"Thanks," she responded. She dug out some galleons and examined them. "Uh, how much-"

"No, no," the old man said kindly, "You're not from around here. I can tell. The wands are on me." 

My eyes widened. "Oh my god, thank you!" 

"Of course. You be careful, now," he cautioned, "there is great evil out there. It seeks to turn you. Be strong." 

"Uh, yeah. We will," Meghan responded. "Thanks again for the wands." 

She pulled me out of the shop by my hand and sighed when we exited. "That was crazy." 

"I know, right. Okay, okay, next we need a cauldron, pewter, standard size two." I sighed. "That sounds expensive." 

"Well we got our wands for free, so I think we can do it. But we need to talk about electives. We have to take at least two, and we have to send a letter back to Hogwarts to say which ones we want to take. Our choices are Divination, Arithmancy, Study of Ancient Runes, Care of Magical Creatures, or Muggle Studies. If we take Divination, we will be with the golden trio, but we have to get a crystal ball and those are probably expensive." 

"True. Besides, it doesn't seem like a fun class. What's Arithmancy?" I asked, looking at the list Meghan was holding. 

"I don't know. It's a numbers class." 

"Ew, like math?" 

Meghan shrugged. "Yeah. I think I'm going to take it. It only requires one textbook, and I'm good at math." 

"I think the Study of Ancient Runes sounds kind of cool. Do I need anything special?" 

"Five textbooks!" 

My jaw dropped. "You have got to be kidding me. Can't they just use computers?" 

Meghan shrugged. "At modern Hogwarts, you know, if it existed, maybe. But we've also gone back in time, remember? This book is set in the late 1900s. I think I may take Care of Magical Creatures. It only requires two textbooks." 

"Hagrid is still teaching that in this book, remember? It'll probably be dangerous. Oh, and he has the Monster Book of Monsters as a textbook. You want to use that thing?" I laughed, watching people passing by. 

"It'll be fine. Hagrid leaves for a while, remember? To talk to the giants? We'll have a sub." 

"Good point. I'll take it if you take it." 

She nodded. "Yeah, okay, deal. What other class do you want to take?" 

"Muggle Studies. Pretty sure I'll ace that one." 

"Sweet, it only requires one textbook." 

I looked around the alley at all the shops, considering classes. "What classes are required?" 

"Transfiguration, Charms, Potions, History of Magic, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Astronomy, and Herbology," Meghan answered. 

"Those sound fun. Let's go get all our books." 

"We may need to do some work at Flourish and Blotts in exchange for them."

We made our way to the bookstore and entered. The manager, a portly man, was very nice and happy to help us pay for our books, ten each. It was a miracle and we thanked him profusely. Boring stuff came next on the list: quills, parchment, bags, luggage, etc. Our Potions supplies (cauldron, brass scales, and vials) came from a bubbly shop that smelled like metal and our Astronomy equipment (telescope and star chart) from a shop with an enchanted ceiling showing the night sky. It traced out constellations and dazzled us when we saw it. 

"I need a break," I groaned. "We've been going at this for hours." 

"Want a butterbeer?" 

"That would be fantastic." 

The butterbeer that we got was even better than the butterbeer at Universal. It tasted perfect and I felt fully immersed in the Harry Potter world. Meghan and I sat at a table in the Leaky Cauldron with our drinks and watched people wander by. Someone had left a copy of The Daily Prophet at our table and I was leafing through the pages, watching the moving pictures. 

Meghan spoke up, startling me. "I think I want to try out for the Quidditch team." 

I raised my eyebrows. "Really?" 

"Yeah." 

"You've never ridden a broom before." 

She shrugged. "How hard can it be? I'd make a good keeper." 

"I mean, make the most of your Hogwarts experience. But you'll have to get a used broom and we can't afford a new one." 

"I know," Meghan stated, "and I'll get a used one last if we have enough money left. Other things are more important and should be prioritized." 

"Like pets?" 

She nodded happily. "Like pets. I want an owl." 

"I want a cat. Wanna go?" I offered, getting up and tossing my empty butterbeer cup into a trashcan. 

"Duh!" 

I think the fastest I ever ran was to go get that cat. It wasn't hard for me to pick a small grey cat that I named Oliver. Meghan selected a tawny owl that she named Athena. They were both very well behaved animals, luckily, and posed no problem as we got Meghan's broom (the cheapest we could find). 

At last, we were broke again. But we had everything we needed, so that was a win. We took our things back to our room at the Lucky Cauldron and sighed, tired. It was nap time.

***

"Abby, hurry up, we're going to be late!" Meghan called. 

I pushed my trolley faster through the train station until we finally reached platform nine. It was way more nerve-wracking than I thought it would be. "What if it doesn't work?" 

"I'll go first so you can test it on me," Meghan offered. 

"No, it's okay. I'll go." With a deep breath, I mustered my courage and charged at the brick wall. To my relief, I stumbled through to the other side. 

We were actually there- Platform 9 3/4. I led the way toward the Hogwarts Express with Meghan behind me. Witches and wizards were everywhere, hugging their kids and waving as they got on the trains. 

Meghan and I had no family there, so we wound our way through the crowd to find an entrance. I was about to get on but a house elf stopped me and took my luggage to the luggage cart. The same happened to Meghan. 

"Convenient," I whispered under my breath. 

We got on the train and found an empty compartment to sit in. It was more spacious than I had envisioned, and the seats were more comfortable than they looked. 

"This is so cool," I said giddily. 

Meghan agreed with me. "Think we'll pass our O.W.Ls?" 

"Who cares? We don't actually live here. It'll have no effect on us. I think. Unless we enter The Half-Blood Prince or The Deathly Hallows." 

"You should try. Just in case," she cautioned. 

"I will, I will. I'm a nerd, too, you know." 

The train whistle blew and we heard the 'all aboard' call. I thought we got away with a compartment to ourselves until the door slid open. In stepped a red-headed girl with hand-me-down robes.

She smiled. "Hi, I'm Ginny. Can I sit with you guys? Most of the compartments are full." 

"Sure," I said, gesturing to the spot next to me. 

"Thanks!" She shut the door and sat down with a sigh. "Sorry to impose." 

"No problem," Meghan chimed. 

She looked back and forth between us. "What year are you?" 

"Fifth." 

She nodded. "Ah, that makes sense. I'm only fourth. You... you both have American accents. Did you transfer from Ilvemorny?" 

"Yes," Meghan lied, "our parents moved here because of a job change." 

"You're sisters?" 

"Cousins," I corrected. 

"What did your parents do?" 

I froze up, not sure what to say. "They, uh, they both worked a Muggle job. We're Muggle-born. Yeah. You?" 

She sighed. "Pureblood. But we're not like the other purebloods, we're not stuck up. My family, the Weasleys, we're really accepting."

"That's nice. I wish everyone was," Meghan mused. "So... your family. What are they like?" 

She laughed. "Loud. I've got six brothers and my parents. It's hectic. But we manage. It's always nice to go back to Hogwarts after a long and insufferable summer stuck with them." 

"I'm sure it is."

The compartment fell quiet for a minute. I found myself desperately grasping for small talk. I was bad enough at communicating with regular people. Now I was talking to a witch, and not just any witch- Ginny Weasley. 

Meghan saved the conversation, though. "Do you like Quidditch?" 

Ginny grinned. "Yeah, love it. Favorite team?" 

"The Fitchburg Finches." 

"That's an American team, right? Won the US League Cup, what, seven times?" Ginny responded. I was shocked that Ginny knew so much about them, and even more surprised that Meghan remembered such an obscure team. 

"You bet. How about you?" 

"The Holyhead Harpies." 

"Ooo, good one. The only all-female team in the League." 

Ginny leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees, fully invested in the conversation. "Yeah! Did you see the game against the Wasps last week?" 

"No, I missed it. What happened?" 

"Wilda Griffiths scored ten goals! It was incredible." 

"That sounds awesome. Hey, do you play Quidditch at Hogwarts?"

She frowned. "No. I'm going to try out this year, though. You?" 

"I want to try out, too." 

"I hope you're no competition for me," Ginny teased. "I'd feel bad beating you to the spot on the team." 

"In your dreams!" 

***

The train ride was long and finally ended. Meghan, Ginny, and I had changed into our robes and waited anxiously for the line of students to hurry up so that we could get inside. The weather was fair, but a tad cool as we boarded the carriages that were pulled by Thestrals. We made our way to the castle and looked around in awe as we entered. It was way bigger than I could ever have imagined. 

Ginny looked amused. "Better than Ilvermorny?" 

"You bet," I said. "Where is our luggage going?"

"To your rooms. The house-elves handle it. You guys need to get in line with the first years to get sorted," Ginny told us. She waved and went to the Gryffindor table, leaving us. 

I looked over at Meghan. "So much for slipping in unnoticed." 

"Here, fold your robe like that-" she messed with her robe's opening and folded it over, "so that you can hide the house patch." 

"What if we get different houses?" 

"We won't. I'm definitely a Ravenclaw. And you're... I'm pretty much certain you're a Hufflepuff. Maybe Gryffindor?" 

I groaned and watched Dumbledore carry out The Sorting Hat worriedly. He set it down on a stool and introduced Dolores Umbridge, who did indeed look like a toad. The Sorting Hat sang a song, a warning about how the Ministry is entering Hogwarts. The line went so slowly it hurt. Finally, Meghan was called. She went up to the stool and sat down. 

Dumbledore, who whispered with her briefly, glancing at me, announced that she was a transfer student from Ilvermorny. He put the hat on her head. It had barely touched her before shouting, "RAVENCLAW!" 

I went next, heart beating rapidly. I didn't like so many eyes on me at once. Dumbledore announced that I, too, was a transfer student before setting the hat on my head. Briefly, a lice concern crossed my mind, but I pushed it away. Meghan and I made eye contact. She flashed a thumbs up. 

"Hmm..." I could hear the Sorting Hat say. "A brave but loyal heart. Hardworking, but chivalrous. Honest, patient, and accepting... HUFFLEPUFF!" 

I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't need new robes. Happily, I handed the hat back to Dumbledore and sat down with my fellow Hufflepuffs. The feast was delicious, I had never eaten so much. I was so sleepy I could barely follow our Prefect to the Hufflepuff dorms by the kitchens.

He showed the first years and me a stack of barrels. The second barrel from the bottom, middle of the row, was where a secret knock would be performed to the rhythm of 'Helga Hufflepuff' in order to gain access. The barrel opened to reveal a passage that we crawled through down into our below-ground level common room, which was round with sunny windows at the top on level with the grass and dandelions of the Hogwarts grounds, making a comforting view. A fire crackled in a fireplace and leafy plants dotted the room and swung from above. It was so cozy, I could have collapsed right there, but I had to unpack. 

I climbed up the steps to the girl's dormitory and found my room, which I shared with a few other girls. The furniture had light-colored wood and the beds had soft quilts thrown over them. One bed had my suitcase on it and I opened it up to put things away. On my pillow was my schedule, so I prepared my bag for tomorrow's classes and stowed the rest. I changed into pajamas and wiggled into the bed, closing my eyes and falling asleep instantly. 

***

I walked into Charms feeling so anxious I might die. Meghan and I hadn't seen each other since the sorting ceremony, so I had no idea what classes we had together- if we had any at all. 

Weakly, I sat down in a desk on the edge of the classroom by the far wall, further toward the front than the back- my go-to spot. I traced the spine of Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5 and kept my eyes down so as not to attract attention to myself. There was a thump as someone set a stack of books on the table and sat down next to me. 

I looked over fearfully, but that dissipated when I saw Meghan. "Meghan!" 

She smiled. "Hey. How's your first day going?" My eyes welled up with tears and she instantly panicked. "What? What happened? Did someone say something?" 

"No, I just hate first days so much. I haven't made any friends because I'm a stupid introvert with social anxiety." 

"You're not stupid. It's okay, let me see your schedule," Meghan requested. I passed it to her. "Look, we have Care of Magical Creatures together tomorrow. Looks like we have one class together per day. That's great news!"

I nodded, shoving my schedule back in my bag, which sat leaned against my desk beside me. "How's your first day?" 

"Okay. I made friends with Cho Chang. We have the same dorm room. Do you share with any characters I'd know?" 

I shook my head. "What do you expect? Cedric is like the only Hufflepuff student talked about in the books, and he's dead. Speaking of, don't bring it up to any Hufflepuffs. It's still sensitive. Anyway, how's your common room?" 

"Cold, big, formal, but pretty. There are these giant windows that are always open, which is really cold at night, but they're enchanted so bugs don't get in. There's a fireplace in the common room and every dorm room but it doesn't do much good. My bed is so comfy, Abby, I could barely get out of it this morning..."

Professor Flitwick entered the room happily, scrambling up to his podium and ending our conversation. "Alright, class, welcome. As most of you know, I'm Professor Flitwick. We're going to start with review work for the first few weeks." 

The class groaned.

"I know, I know. Today- mending spells! The incantation is Reparo. You'll need to move your wand in the formation of a backward G. I'll demonstrate." Professor Flitwick picked up a teacup and smashed it on his podium. 

With a motion of his wand and the word, 'Reparo', the teacup reassembled. "Your turn!" 

He passed out teacups by floating them over to our seats and setting them down. I took mine and hit it against the desk. It shattered, sending glass shards all over. Meghan did the same, her shards mixing with mine since each desk sat two. 

I picked up my wand and practiced the motion before trying to cast the spell. Nothing happened. I tried again. Once again, nothing happened. Twenty tries later, the teacup was still broken. 

Meghan, who had gotten it on her twelfth try, observed my motions. "Make your movements sharper. It's less like a curved G and more like a G made of four lines. Like this." She smashed her teacup again. "Reparo!" 

The pieces floated back and restored the teacup to its original form. 

I copied her actions but messed up when Oliver swiped a paw at my wand. "Oliver!" I scolded. He meowed and I scratched his ears to satisfy him. Then, I repeated the charm. This time, my teacup fixed itself. I beamed. "I did it! I did magic!" 

Meghan nodded, giving me a fist bump. "Nice!" 

"Hey, can we meet in the library later? There are a lot of charms we need to catch up on. I want to cast as many spells as possible." 

She nodded. "Yeah, totally. How about right after dinner? Curfew isn't until ten, so I think we'll have plenty of time." 

"Sounds good to me!" 

***

Meghan and I sat in the dark Hogwarts library, books scattered over our table. We sat by the fireplace for light as we practiced spells. The sun had set hours ago, and our curfew was approaching. 

"Hey, we have DADA tomorrow. I can't believe we have to have a class with Umbridge teaching it," I complained, "She's the worst." 

"Well, we wouldn't if you had chosen The Prisoner of Azkaban," Meghan reminded me. 

"Yeah, yeah." 

"I'm going to turn in. You should, too. You don't want to get in trouble on your first day." 

I shook my head. "Not now. But soon." 

She shrugged. "Suit yourself. Goodnight." 

"Night." Meghan made her way out of the library. 

As far as I could tell, I was the only student left in the library. A feeling of sadness washed over me, but I wasn't sure why. I took the books back to their shelves after scribbling down the titles so that we could work on them again tomorrow. Then, I returned to my chair with a sigh and stared out the window. It was storming, rain running down the panes and thunder rumbling distantly once in a while. 

I ran a hand through my hair, feeling a heavy weight in my chest. Memories of reading the Harry Potter books for the first time filled my mind. 

There I was at the public pool, reading alone while my mom played with my little brother. 

Then I was in the car with my dad as he drove, turning the pages of The Prisoner of Azkaban after learning that my granddad had Alzheimer's. 

That image melted into a dark night in my bedroom while my parents sat downstairs, trying to find a way to tell me that they were splitting. I had a copy of The Chamber of Secrets in my hand, wiping away tears as I distracted myself with the magic of Harry's world. 

Then I was in the cupboard under my grandparent's stairs that I had decorated to be Harry Potter themed, leaning against the wall with tears streaming down my face. I had The Deathly Hallows in my arms so that I had something to clutch in a death grip because if I let go then I wouldn't make it through the night. 

My fingers trailed down the pages of The Halfblood Prince to comfort me as I listened to my parents fighting in their room. 

The Sorcerer's Stone was in my hand when I was pushed down in the gym locker room. "You're useless!" My attacker screamed. When the students were gone, I opened the book, looking down in despair. The cover had torn. So I got out some tape from my pencil case and repaired it. It was easier to sit on the cold bench, leaning against the lockers to fix a book than it was to fix myself. 

I sat in the attic bedroom at my grandparent's house by myself, despite there being four beds in it for four girls. My back leaned against one of my other cousin's beds as I turned the pages. I couldn't sleep or I'd wake up screaming. So instead, I read. I read the entire book in one night, desperately focusing on the Triwizard Tournament instead of one of my family members that had terminal cancer. 

"Hey." 

I was snapped out of my thoughts by a boy's voice from behind me. Quickly, I wiped away stray tears and turned around. "Yeah?" 

A blonde stood there, arms crossed and in Slytherin robes. "Who are you?" 

"Uh, Abby." 

He squinted at me. "Were you crying?" 

"What? No!" I exclaimed. 

He sat down beside me. "Yeah right. You know it's half an hour past curfew, right? You're not supposed to be out of your dorm." 

"What are you going to do? Snitch?" I challenged. 

"I'm a Prefect. The name's Draco Malfoy." 

My eyes widened. I had just met Draco Malfoy. "Oh." 

"So you're the American girl." 

I chuckled nervously. "That's me." 

"What's your house?" He demanded. I didn't have my robes or tie on, just my uniform. I left them in my dorm room when classes ended to be more comfortable.

"Hufflepuff." 

He nodded, not saying anything for a while and watching the storm. "Why'd you move?" 

"My parents got better job offers." 

"Doing what?" 

I cringed internally. I had to keep my lies consistent, but I also knew how much Draco disliked Muggle-borns. "Medical work." 

"At St. Mungos?" 

I hoped he wouldn't ask that. "No, another hospital." 

"A Muggle hospital?" 

"Yeah." 

He didn't say anything again. Until, finally, he said, "We have Potions together." 

I had taken potions earlier today, it was my second class. There wasn't anyone I really knew in that class, I guess I hadn't recognized Draco. He was more attractive than I had expected from the books. That threw me off. 

"Are you good at Potions?" I asked him, knowing the answer. 

"The best. You?" 

"Not so much," I laughed, trying to lighten the mood, "but I'm really good at Muggle studies. Do you take that class?" 

"No." 

"Oh. I'm also really good at astronomy, I love it. I find it fascinating, especially the stories behind the constellations. I could learn about them all day." 

He smiled. "If you wanted, I could help you with Potions if you helped me with Astronomy." 

Was that a friendship offer? My first instinct was to decline, but he hadn't done anything to me to give me a reason to. Besides, there had to be more to his character than the readers saw in the books. No one is just mean and that's all there is to their personality. Plus, the reason he was trapped being a Death Eater when he didn't want to be was his father. He can't control who he's related to any more than I could. 

"That sounds great," I accepted, smiling. I scooped up my bag and put my textbooks back inside, swinging it over my shoulder. "Well, I should be going. The next Prefect that sees me may not be so merciful. 

"Want me to walk you back?" 

"No, I'm okay. See you later, Draco." I waved, turning and walking out of the library. The heavy doors thudded shut behind me as I walked calmly back toward the Hufflepuff dorms 

***

"Alright, children, open your textbooks to page fourteen and read the chapter silently," Umbridge instructed. 

I grit my teeth. Her voice was so annoying. I flipped to page fourteen, headed, 'Ghouls.' There were paragraphs upon paragraphs of tiny text covering the page. It was incredibly boring work, but I didn't want to get in trouble. The last thing I needed was detention with that magic torture quill. 

Ginny sat beside me. She looked over at me with a look that said, "oh my god I hate her so much." 

I stifled a laugh and scribbled a note down on my paper. 

Same.

She is actually crazy. How does she expect us to learn anything?

I don't know. This is all ridiculous. 

I miss Professor Lupin

Remembering that I wasn't supposed to know, I wrote, Who's that?

Our professor last year. He was awesome but also a werewolf

Cool

I know, right?

How're all your brothers?

Stupid. Fred and George are paying kids to try their dangerous candy

Yikes. What's the body count?

Hahaha! None yet

Yet

Yet. Hey, so I have a secret to tell you

Ooooooo what is it???

Okay, so you know Harry Potter?

I know of him but I don't like, know him know him. 

Well, I do. 

No way!

Yeah! And I'm kind of crushing on him

Oh my god

I know, I know. But he's so nice and cool and funny... 

Someone's lovesick

Shut up

Umbridge started walking our direction, wandering and looking at students' work. I shoved the paper under my textbook so she wouldn't see our notes and pretended to be invested in ghouls. She eyed Ginny and I suspiciously, but I just smiled and went back to reading. Satisfied, she moved on. Ginny and I exchanged looks, holding back laughter. 

Maybe Defense Against the Dark Arts wouldn't be so bad. 

***

"Meghan!" I called as I went down the hill. 

My cousin turned around, waving. "Hey!" 

I arrived at the base of the hill by Hagrid's hut where he was holding our Care of Magical Creatures class. The half-giant was greeting all of his students, going around to acquaint himself with each one. 

"What're we learning about today?" I asked Meghan. 

"Knarls. If I remember correctly, there's something about them on the O.W.L exam," she told me. Carefully, she stroked the spine of The Monster Book of Monsters so that it calmed down. She flipped the pages until she found one on knarls.

Just then, Hagrid approached. "Hello!"

I waved nervously. "Hi." 

"I'm Hagrid. What're yer names?" He asked us. 

Meghan answered first. "I'm Meghan. What animals will we be learning about this year?" 

"Erm, knarls, thestrals, bowtruckles, porlucks... an' others, I just haven't got it all fig'ured out yet," he said, scratching the back of his neck. 

"I'm Abby." 

"Nice ta meet ch'a, Abby. Oh, sorry, I gotta go get the class started!" He lumbered up to the front of the group and got our attention. "Welcome ta Care O' Magical Creatures. Today, we're lookin' at knarls. These guys are normally mistaken fer hedgehogs by the muggles. Now, there ain't many differences between the two. Only way to tell is to set out food 'r milk. A hedgehog'll eat the food but a knarl won't. They'll think yer tryin' to trap 'em and 'll ruin yer garden." 

I nudged Meghan and whispered, "What if they get into the Herbology greenhouse?" 

She shrugged.

"These beasts 're XXX classified," Hagrid told the class, "That means they're no trouble to a competent wizard. Or witch. They like ta eat daisies, so today, yer all gonna get to hold a knarl and give 'im some daisies. Come on!" He led us to a pen where he extracted knarls and started handing them to students. The animals wiggled and hissed in their arms. 

"Uh, Hagrid?" Meghan asked, raising her hand, "What if they bite us or get away from us?" 

"Just be nice to 'em. They'll stay happily." 

"Yeah, but-" she started, but Hagrid thrust a knarl into her arms and one into mine before I could blink. 

The knarl screeched but I held up the daisies in the hand connected to the arm supporting the animal and pet it with the other hand. It stopped twisting and nibbled on the daisies, making contented little noises.

Meghan was fighting hers, trying to give it daisies while it tried to claw out her eyes. It was a passionate interaction. 

Class ended and I came out unscathed. Meghan did not. She had cuts all over her arms and some on her face from where the knarl tried to kill her, plus bite marks on her ear.

"Come on," I said, "Let's go to Madam Pomfrey's."

"You'll be late for Potions! Snape will kill you!" Meghan protested. 

I shook my head firmly. "You can't talk me out of it. Your eye is swollen shut and you need someone to make sure you get there safely." I marched her down the halls and corridors until we ended up at the infirmary. I walked her in as Madam Pomfrey hustled over. 

"My goodness! What happened?" 

"Knarl," I answered simply. 

She huffed and led Meghan over to one of the beds, sitting her down at the end of it. "Episkey!" 

The wounds on Meghan's skin closed and she sighed in relief. "Thank you." 

Madam Pomfrey tutted, "You be careful, alright?" 

"Yeah, I will," Meghan confirmed. "Am I good to go?" 

"Yes, yes, off to class." 

We left quickly, taking different routes to our classes since I had Potions and she had Arithmancy. I wound my way down the corridors until I reached the door to Professor Snape's class. Quietly, I opened it, hoping that maybe he wouldn't notice and I could just tip-toe in. 

It didn't work out. 

Snape glared at me as he stood in front of a silent class, all of their eyes on me. "Miss Pickard. You're late. What, pray tell, could have been so much more important than my class?"

"Uh..." 

"She was helping me, Professor," said Draco, who was seated near the back of the class. He stood up. "I needed her to get me a quill. I forgot mine." 

"Oh?" 

"Yes, she was here before class started and I realized that I didn't have a quill. She volunteered to go get me one since she didn't have a spare. This is on me." 

Professor Snape eyed us suspiciously. "Very well. But do not be late again." 

"Yes sir," I responded. Draco motioned for me to sit by him so I hurried back there and sat down. "That was close. Thanks." 

"Well, if you have detention you can't help me with Astronomy." 

Snape kept talking about a draught of peace that we were going to be brewing. That sounded like something I needed, so I paid attention as he gave instructions. Finally, he set us free to make it with a partner. 

I looked over at Draco. "I'll get the ingredients." 

Carrying the list I scribbled down, I went to the cabinet and grabbed a moonstone, syrup of hellebore, porcupine quills, and unicorn horn. I brought them back and set them down on the desk where Draco had already set up his cauldron. 

"We need to be really careful," he told me, "if we do it wrong it could put us into a deep and irreversible sleep." 

Thank god I had Draco with me to do this. "That sounds bad." 

"Yeah. Did you get everything?" he asked. 

"Yep. We need to powder the moonstone, porcupine quills, and unicorn horn." I passed him the unicorn horn fragment, knowing that it would be easiest to do the quills. He put it in a bowl and began grinding it. It copied his actions on the quills. Once I completed my task, I took the moonstone, putting it in another bowl. Not wanting to seem stupid, but needing help, I turned to Draco. 

"How do I powder a moonstone?" 

He looked at me weird. "Didn't they teach potions at Ilvermorny?" 

"Uh, our teacher sucked. We always did a bunch of worksheets and textbook stuff." 

"Oh. Okay, like this," he demonstrated, moving his wrist in wave-like motions and pressing down on the stone. It broke and I took over, turning it into powder while he worked on the unicorn horn. 

"Done!" I announced proudly.

He looked at the quills and the stone, nodding. "Good job." 

"Thanks. Now what?" 

"We add powdered moonstone until the potion turns green," he read. "Do you want to do it?" 

I handed the bowl to him, "Nah, it's okay. I'll do whatever comes after that." 

Slowly, he poured in moonstone. Abruptly, he stopped as the potion turned emerald green. He passed me the spoon. "Here. Stir until it turns blue." 

I put the spoon in. "Clockwise or counterclockwise?" 

"Both." 

I did as the textbook said, stirring at a normal speed. Slowly, the potion turned into a blue hue. Draco passed me the moonstone. "Add more until it turns purple." 

I did and it changed very quickly. "Done." 

"Now we let it simmer until it turns pink." Draco leaned against the desk and looked at me. "So. Why were you late to class?" 

"My cousin got mauled during Care of Magical Creatures by a knarl." 

"Ouch. Last year, a Hippogriff broke my arm," he told me. "But looking back it was more of my fault." 

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Draco Malfoy was admitting that he was wrong? "I'm sorry."

"Eh. It's fine now. So... cousin?" 

"Uh huh, she's the other Ilvermorny transfer. Her name's Meghan. She's a Ravenclaw." 

He nodded vaguely. "I think I have History of Magic with her. She sits with Cho Chang." 

"Yeah, they share a dorm room." 

"Makes sense. I haven't seen you talking to many people... who are you friends with?" 

I laughed humorlessly. That was not an easy question to answer. "Meghan, I guess, if that counts. Ginny Weasley. Um, I met Hermione Granger in my Transfiguration class and we sit next to each other, but I don't know if it qualifies as friendship. And you." 

He turned his head away so I didn't see him smile, but I caught a glimpse of it. 

"You don't have any Hufflepuff friends?" 

"Well, I mean, my dorm mates, kind of. But we just don't know each other very well. It's still early in the year. What about you?" 

"Crabbe and Goyle. But I don't know if they're really my friends, more like followers. Uh, Blaise Zabini, Astoria Greengrass, Millicent Bulstrode, and you. Oh, and Pansy Parkinson. But she's also not really my friend. She has a massive crush on me that I don't return." 

"That sucks. I guess we're both low on friends." 

He chuckled. "Yeah, I guess we are." 

I looked over at the potion, which had finally turned pink. "Can you add the syrup of hellebore?" 

"Sure." Draco poured the syrup in as the potion changed to a turquoise. "Time to let it simmer again. When it turns purple we'll move on." 

"Okay." I hopped up on an empty desk behind us, swinging my legs under it. Draco joined me, though he didn't kick his legs. "So, have any pets?" 

He nodded. "An eagle-owl. He brings be candies daily from my mother."

"What kinds?" 

"All sorts." He dug a chocolate frog out of his pocket and handed it to me. "Here." 

I thought about protesting, but chocolate sounded really good. "Thanks!" I unwrapped it and caught the frog before it hopped away, biting off the head to break the enchantment. 

"What card did you get?" Draco asked. 

I pulled it out of the wrapper and showed him. "Harry Potter." 

Draco rolled his eyes. "Potter." 

"Do you not like him?" 

"Don't get me started. The first year, he was rude to me the second time we met without knowing me. He so arrogant and stuck up just because he's the chosen one. Ever since I've just hated him. Oh, and everyone worships him. He got instant fame and success for something he didn't try to do. Success like that should come from hard work and talent, not a coincidence. I'm the most talented wizard in our year, but who's number one? Potter, who barely scrapes by in most of his classes. It's just not fair that I work so hard and get nothing while he gets everything handed to him." 

He kind of had a point. If I were him, I wouldn't have liked Harry either. "If it makes you feel better, I think you're really skilled. You're definitely better at magic than Harry. He may have a lot of raw power but he doesn't know how to use it like you do." 

Draco smiled. "Thanks, Abby. Oh, the potion. It's purple. We need to shake the quills." 

He grabbed the bowl and shook it back and forth to mix it all up, then dumped it into the cauldron, turning it red, then orange. He added more, reverting the potion back to turquoise. 

"We have to wait until it's purple," I informed him, holding my textbook. "So, what were you doing in the library last week?" 

"I have to go there and some other places before going to bed. Prefect job. You?" 

"Meghan and I were studying earlier and I stayed late to watch the rain. It's purple." I grabbed the powdered unicorn horn and poured it in to make it pink. With a few stirs, the color changed to red. "More simmering." 

Draco sighed. "How long do we have until Professor Snape has us test them?" 

I checked my watch. "Half an hour. We're almost there." 

"What electives are you taking?" 

"Muggle Studies, Study of Ancient Runes, and Care of Magical Creatures. Runes is a cool class and I'm good at Care of Magical Creatures. I'm muggle-born, so I'm good at muggle studies, but I didn't expect it to be so boring. I think I might transfer out." 

"You should take Divination." 

"Why?" 

"Because I'm in that class. Maybe we'll have it together. It's pretty boring, too, but..." he shrugged. 

I nodded. "I just might do that." 

He looked back at the potion. "It's purple. Do you want to add more moonstone or should I?" 

"I'll do it." Slowly, I poured it until the liquid changed to grey. "Is that right?" 

Draco checked the textbook. "Yep. Now stir until it's orange." 

I did as instructed and watched the colors change. Draco threw in more quills while I stirred to make it white. We dropped the heat to low and put in seven drops of hellebore before letting it simmer for a moment and stirring it to give it a silvery vapor. Then, we poured some out into two vials to cool. 

Snape got up before the class a few minutes later. "Time's up. You," he pointed at the students at the desk on the far left in the front of the class, "test it." 

The students, who had a potion more grey than white, fearfully drunk it. The girl winced. "I feel really nervous."

Snape rolled his eyes. "P. Next." The students looked disappointed to receive a 'poor' grade. 

The next desk, two boys, tested a gray-white potion, claiming "I feel calm." 

Snape raised a brow. "No, you don't. That's not the right color. P. Next." 

There were quite a few mishaps, including potions with green sparks, a rotten egg stench, and even one that exploded. Finally, Snape reached our desk and observed the potion, stirring it a bit. My heart thudded in my chest as he looked over us with scrutiny.

"Looks fine. Drink it." 

Draco and I took the potion. Instantly, all my nerves disappeared. "I feel great, Professor." 

He nodded. "E."

Draco and I high-fived. An E stood for 'exceeds expectations'. I pulled out vials to save some in. I looked over at him. "Half and a half?" 

He shook his head. "It's all yours." 

"Seriously?" 

"Yeah," he laughed, "you're an anxious mess. You need it way more than I do." He paused, "I didn't mean anxious mess in a mean way, I just-" 

"It's fine, it's true," I laughed, filling a bunch of vials with the magical anxiety cure. This stuff was going to save my life. "Will you brew more with me when I run out?" 

"Sure." 

Professor Snape finished grading and announced, "Clean up your work areas and when you finish, class is dismissed." 

Draco and I cleaned up very fast. He cleaned the cauldron while I handled the ingredients and wiped down the table. Casting a shrinking charm, his cauldron became very small and he tossed it in his bag. That was how most students carried their things- very mini versions of them that they would make larger during class. That way, our bags weren't heavy. 

"What class do you have next?" I asked him. 

"Divination. You?" 

"Transfiguration. Walk me?" 

He nodded and we made our way up from the dungeons. Our footsteps were hurried to get all the way across the school before passing period ended. We almost collided with a 

Gryffindor on our way, but got there in the nick of time. 

"Bye, Draco," I waved as I stepped into my classroom. 

"Bye!" 

The room was crowded and Professor McGonagall was at the front of the class, looking down at a scroll in her hands. Students bustled about, talking, laughing, throwing paper airplanes... I didn't think that was actually a thing kids did for fun back in the day but I guess not having phones really puts a damper on entertainment. 

"Take your seats, take your seats!" McGonagall commanded, shooing students toward desks. 

I went over to the one Hermione and I shared and dropped my bag with a sigh. 

She smiled. "Hi, Abby." 

"Hey, Hermione." I looked down at the parchment she was writing on. Three copies of the same History of Magic assignment. "Why do you have so many of the same worksheet?" 

She smiled weakly. "I'm helping out Harry and Ron." 

"Seriously? Dude, let them do it themselves. You're their friend, not their slave." 

"I have to, they need help. Harry is busy with... really important stuff. And Ron is..." She trailed off. 

I glared at her. "What? Your crush? 'Mione, come on." 

"I like being helpful." 

"Yeah but they just thrust all their work on you. That's really rude and totally uncalled for. You're worth more than that." 

"Thanks. Hey, I just remembered, I needed to tell you something. Umbridge is-"

Professor McGonagall tapped her wand on her podium to get the class's attention. "There. Today we're learning about vanishing spells. Wands out, please!" 

***

Meghan and I looked out at the lake from our spot in the grassy Hogwarts grounds. She was working on her Potions essay while I was trying to figure out the vanishing spell I had learned earlier. Even with Hermione's help, I hadn't gotten it yet.

"Ugh," I groaned, "Why am I so bad at this?" 

"That's what we get for starting on the fifth book in the series and not the first." 

"We'd still be fifth years, we just wouldn't be the same age as the main characters." 

"Yeah, but we could learn a spell to make us look younger," she suggested, "then again, I suppose we need to learn it before we go to Hogwarts... hey, wait a sec!" She pulled out a textbook from Charms and started reading. 

I raised a brow. "You want to spontaneously become first years? Sure, that won't raise any questions." 

"No, this is for future reference. In case we go back to a previous book. I'm not sure how that would work, though, considering that we were in this one. The timeline would be complicated..." 

"Don't overthink it, time travel makes your head hurt. Just finish your potions essay so you can help me with this stupid spell." 

She rolled her eyes but got back to work on her essay. "So, how's your Hogwarts experience? Made any friends?" 

"Besides you and Ginny? Yeah." 

She looked up. "Oh, who?" 

"Hermione. And Draco." 

Meghan looked at me blankly. "You became friends with Draco Malfoy? He's evil!" 

"He's complicated. He's been nothing but kind to me." 

"I don't understand how you can like him." 

"Well I don't understand how you like Snape, but he was one of your favorite characters." 

She set her parchment down. "He was in love! Draco was just prejudiced!" 

"Snape is not a good guy," I argued, "And that doesn't change just because he died a dramatic death."

"He asked Dumbledore to protect Lily," she pointed out.

"So what? If Voldemort had chosen to go after the Longbottoms, he wouldn't have cared and let them die. He would have been the most loyal Death Eater of them all!" "You don't know that." 

I sighed. "Okay, fine. Well, I do know how cruel he was to his students."

"He wasn't that mean to the students." 

"He was Neville Longbottom's boggart! He was Neville's worst fear. Neville's. The kid that killed Nagini. The kid whose parents were driven insane by the Cruciatus curse. You'd think maybe the curse of Voldemort was his worst fear but no- it was Snape. He made Neville feed his toad a potion that they both believed would probably kill the toad because Neville brewed it wrong. That's horrible- he was intending to force Neville to kill his pet! Or the way he harassed Hermione about having big teeth? That was so cruel. She was already self-conscious about it and he just made her feel worse. He constantly called his students stupid. Repeating negative things like that to children can seriously mess them up. Oh, and he tried to 'out' Lupin as a werewolf just out of spite because he never got over how Lupin's friends, not Lupin himself, bullied him."

"But he made Lupin the Wolfsbane potion!" 

"Only because Dumbledore made him. Not to mention he was terrible to Harry, too, just because he hated James so much." 

"James bullied him ruthlessly when they were at school! And he was lonely his whole childhood." 

"So what? I was bullied, I had a lonely childhood, but I don't treat other people horribly because of it, and I most certainly didn't join some evil leader to murder those I don't like based on something that they can't help." 

"He may have been a Deatheater at first, but he became a double agent for years! That's so risky but he did it to protect others. He was brave and he was a hero." I shook my head angrily. "No. He did it because he was angry at Voldemort for killing Lily. A hero is someone that risks their lives for others because it's the right thing to do. He risked his life because of his hatred for Voldemort." 

"Because he loved Lily, who Voldemort killed." 

"If he loved her he never would have called her a mudblood. That's like calling a gay person the f-word or an African American person the n-word. And he was obsessed with her. Like when he snuck into the Potter's house to just hold her corpse. He stepped over James's body (who, might I add, ran out there without even a wand to hold Voldemort off so that Lily and Harry could escape), and just hugged her while her infant son was still in the cradle, crying." 

"I'm not saying that was right, but his actions are understandable because he was in love." 

"No, they're not. Taking out your anger on tons of children just because some girl from high school rejected you isn't okay. Lily had a right to say 'no' to him and she used it." 

"He would have treated her way better than James!" 

"What evidence do you have that he was a bad husband? He knowingly gave his life to buy her time to escape from Voldemort. Snape just told Dumbledore to help Lily." 

She scoffed. "What evidence do I have? He was a total f-boy at Hogwarts and never took no for an answer." 

"Tons of teenage boys are horny stupid idiots. And though he continued to try to win her over, that's all he did: convince her to change her mind of her own free will. He never forced himself on her or anything." 

"Snape turned his life around for the better!" 

"No, he didn't, because his intentions weren't about being good, they were about payback. Plus, he had no remorse for how he treated others, except Lily." 

"So basically, what you're saying is that if someone does something wrong, they can never come back from it even if they do good?" She snarled.

I shook my head. "Of course not. It's all about intentions, Meghan. If he truly regretted oppressing muggles and muggle-borns and chose to do what's right because it's right or to make up for what he did, he would be a good person. But he didn't. Everything he did, he did for revenge on Voldemort."

"Okay, but how can you think Draco Malfoy is a better person?" 

"Draco never killed anyone, for starters." 

"Dumbledore asked Snape to kill him!" 

"But he was Death Eater before he was a double agent and he killed tons of muggle-borns. He fully supported Voldemort." 

"So did Draco!"

"Draco was forced to join them by his father! He lied to Bellatrix Lestrange to save Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Oh, and he didn't kill Dumbledore, even when he knew it would get him killed. He was lowering his wand when Snape burst in. That's not what I'd call 'full support.'"

"Either way, he still fought on Voldemort's side!"

"He had to or Voldemort would kill him and his family. To be honest, if Voldemort had my family in his clutches, I would do what he wanted, too, to save my family."

Her face softened a bit. "That's fair. But he could have done more to help the good side without explicitly betraying Voldemort."

"He warned the trio about Death Eaters in Goblet of Fire. During the Battle of Hogwarts in the books, he stayed on Hogwarts' side and fought his father because it was the right thing to do. He even threw Harry a wand when he was facing Voldemort."

"What about what he did to Katie Bell and Ron during his failed assassination attempts?"

"That was an accident and what he did killed him."

"Since he tried to kill Dumbledore so many times, doesn't that prove that he was capable of murder, though? He was intending to kill him, even if it didn't work, and you said intentions matter."

"They were all such weak attempts, and he knew it. Draco's smart. If he really, really wanted to assassinate someone, he could. But he did things that would give Dumbledore time to counter his attacks and survive." 

"He's still twisted."

"He had clear mental health issues like depression. His father was clearly emotionally abusive. Draco was a victim. He was just a scared kid in way over his head."

"He bullied Harry, Ron, and Hermione for years!" 

I shrugged. "Yeah, and it was wrong. I'm not defending that. His dislike of them is understandable since Harry was rude to him and declined friendship and got success handed to him. But he shouldn't have treated them poorly. Nevertheless, Snape was WAY meaner to the golden trio than Draco ever was. I'm not saying he was perfect, but he is a good person and definitely better than Snape."

"What about how prejudice he was?" 

"That was his father's influence and his views changed. I know when I was little, my grandma was anti-LGBT and forced that on me. I, an impressionable little kid, said 'ok'. But now I'm bisexual and super pro-LGBT. Or my father's beliefs were all conservative so mine were, too. But now I'm liberal. Draco was a terrified kid that was a product of his environment, and who wouldn't be in his position? Voldemort had his family in the palm of his hand and could have killed them all at any moment. When he got older, he still chose to risk it to do what was right." 

She waved me off. "Fine, fine. Agree to disagree." 

I put my stuff in my bag. The sun was starting to dip on the horizon and I needed to get back to the common room. "I'm headed back. Don't keep yourself awake all night working. You need to rest." 

"I'll be fine."

"No, you won't. You'll be overly tired and you'll sleep through breakfast." 

"I won't!" 

I rolled my eyes. "I'll save you a bagel. G'night, Meg." 

"Bye!" 

I climbed up the hill tiredly and made my way toward the Hufflepuff dorms, making a brief stop at the kitchens to get some snacks before going to my common room and flopping down on the sofa. I cracked open a book and started reading while chomping down on a cookie when someone sat down on the sofa next to me. 

I looked up to see a cheerful girl with curly, caramel-colored hair and hazel eyes. "Hi!" 

"Hey," I responded. 

"I'm Eleanor." 

"I'm Abby." 

She looked at my book. "What'cha reading?" 

"Nothing, just a muggle classic." 

"Oh. Did you hear the news about Professor Umbridge?" She whispered, eyes wide. 

"Uh, no. Not yet." 

She seemed very troubled. "She's been made the High Inquisitor of Hogwarts by the Minister of Magic himself!" 

I inwardly groaned. And so it begins. "What does that even mean?" 

"I dunno, but she's important now. Hey, we have DADA together, right?" 

I didn't know. "Uh... yeah, I think so." 

"Wasn't our lesson yesterday ridiculous? I mean, come on, snakes? Everyone knows how to stun something, it's not exactly new information. Except for the basilisk part, but those are super rare and if we encounter them there's really no hope." 

"Wasn't there a basilisk here a couple of years ago? I heard a rumor." 

"Well, yeah, but Harry Potter killed it. He's always saving Hogwarts. It's a shame he's gone so crazy." 

"What do you mean?" 

She looked at me weird. "Don't you read the Daily Prophet? He's nuts. Ever since Cedric..." she stopped and glanced at a plaque on the wall beside the fireplace with Cedric Diggory's grinning face carved into it, captioned by his name, lifespan, and a quote. "Since the Triwizard tournament, he's been spewing nonsense about You-Know-Who. But the Minister says it's all fake. We're fine." 

Oh, you wish. "That's a relief." 

"Come on, it's getting late." She was right. The round windows at the top of the room showed the grass rippling in the wind and the inky sky behind it. Fireflies flashed once in a while, announcing their presence in the darkness. 

I got up, taking my book and scooping up my school bag from the floor beside the sofa. Eleanor led the way up the wooden steps into our room. It was dark in there since most Hufflepuffs had gone to bed. One of our roommates, Beth, was under a blanket using the Lumos spell to read a book, but aside from that, we were the only ones up. As quietly as possible, I changed into comfy pajamas and fell into bed, tired from a long day. 

***

Eleanor and I were early for breakfast, so we got first dibs on the food. I was happy to have someone to sit with at meals since previously, I had no Hufflepuff friends. She had a bowl of cereal and I was eating some strawberries with french toast. 

She was chewing angrily, looking at a paper in her hand. 

"What's wrong?" 

"New rules! Umbridge made a bunch of new rules. Matthew made a list. Here!" She handed me the list of rules. 

"Who's Matthew?" 

She huffed. "My stupid brother." 

"Is he a Hufflepuff, too?" 

"Yep. Second-year." She pointed to a blond kid down the table laughing with some other young students. He looked exactly like Eleanor with the same curly hair and hazel eyes.

I turned my attention back to the list. 

Educational Decree Number 1- Spellcheck quills are hereby banned. Students found in possession of these quills will be punished. 

My head shot up to look at Eleanor. "She banned spellcheck quills? Oh my god, I'm going to fail school." 

My eyes scanned the list, bugging out at the most ludicrous rules. 

Educational Decree Number 24- No music, personal or otherwise, will be played during study hall hours

Educational Decree Number 26- Boys and girls may be no less than eight inches from one another

I snickered. Sometimes being gay really did pay. 

Educational Decree Number 38- No items lacking educational purposes are permitted

Educational Decree Number 41- No students may discuss the upsetting events of last year

I looked up at Eleanor. "She banned us from talking about Cedric?" 

"I know. Our house is seething. It's so disrespectful to his memory. We all are rejecting the rule within the common room and dorms."

I kept reading. "She banned books written by muggles or half-bloods!" 

"I believe the terms she used were 'half-breeds' and... you know. Horrible."

"She's going to search our mail? Oh well, I never send mail. Still, that's totally an invasion of privacy. Oh my god! She's quarantining our pets?" I reached out and scratched Oliver's ears. "That's awful." 

Eleanor nodded. "You should probably take Oliver back to the dorms. You wouldn't want her to take him or something." 

"You're right." I dropped the list and scooped Oliver up, holding him to my chest and tucking my robes over him. My footsteps fell quickly as I hurried back to the dormitory. 

Suddenly, a squeaky, earsplitting voice rang out. "Stop! You stop right there!" 

I didn't need to turn around to know that was Umbridge. I burst into a run toward the dorms, which she didn't know where to find, and knocked as fast as possible. The door opened and I tumbled in, yanking it shut behind me just as she rounded the corner. Her yelling at the barrels, which, of course, couldn't hear her, was audible as she demanded they open. 

The students looked at me wide-eyed when I entered the common room. "What happened?" asked one. 

"Umbridge is making a bunch of rules." 

"Like the one about Cedric?" asked a third-year. 

I nodded. "She's demanding pets stay in the dorms or the owlery. I didn't know until I got to breakfast, so I ran back with my cat." I set him down and he meowed, going to lay down by the fireplace. 

"What? She can't do that!"

Conversation erupted as I sighed. I needed to go back to breakfast, I forgot a bagel for Meghan. A pit in my stomach, I went back out of the dorms and emerged from the barrels. 

Umbridge stood there, pink in the face. "You! Who just ran in there?" 

She didn't recognize me! "Into the common room?" 

"Yes, you stupid girl, who was it?" 

I shrugged. "I don't know. I'm new, I don't know everybody. A fourth-year, I think, but I could be wrong." 

"Useless, utterly useless!" she muttered as I walked away, breathing a sigh of relief. 

I got back to the dining hall and sat down beside Eleanor. She looked worried. "I heard shouting. Did Umbridge catch you?" 

"No, I got away." I grabbed a pair of bagels. "There's no rule against snacks in class yet, is there?"

"No, but I wouldn't eat in her class if I were you. Don't give her any ideas." 

I got up, stuffing the bagels in my bag. "Thanks, El. See ya!" 

She waved as I walked off. First up, History of Magic. 

***

"Harry, please!" 

"It'd be so awkward! And I'd be in such a weird position." 

Ron Weasley huffed. "We need it! How are people supposed to be safe with You-Know-Who back if they can't even cast basic Defense Against the Dark Arts spells?"

"I can't teach, I've never taught before. And if we get caught-" 

"Shh!" Hermione hushed them, "People will hear." 

Indeed people would hear. I sat behind the trio in History of Magic and it is a wonder they were never caught. I exchanged a glance with my desk mate. She smirked in response as if to say, "Yeah, they're idiots." 

Professor Binns, the most boring teacher in all of existence, was droning on about the Giant Wars. How he managed to make a giant war boring was beyond my understanding. 

"The wizarding forces, in response, began assembling factions. Each was led by a different leader and functioned mostly through a long chain of command. Their primary offense that also served as a defense in some ways, was flanking the giants to use stunning spells. Throughout the wars, soldiers tended to eat hardened bread with cheese and..." 

Oh my god, this was so boring. I moved my attention back to the trio in front of me. Harry looked frustrated. "Fine. But how will we even do it?" 

"Let's call a meeting of students and propose the idea." 

"Where?" 

"The Hog's Head Inn when we go to Hogsmeade. It's always empty, no one will overhear us." 

Ron sighed. "We don't go to Hogsmeade again for, like, two months." 

Hermione shrugged. "I don't know what else we could do, so unless you have a better idea, Ronald-" 

"Alright, alright!" He surrendered.

A small smile crept up on my face. Dumbledore's Army was being established. I had to get into that when the time came. I could probably talk to Ginny about it, she's Meghan's and my way in. 

Professor Binns handed me a worksheet. "Take one, pass it down." 

I did as instructed, dying inside when I saw how long it was. This was definitely the most boring class ever. 

***

"I'm so excited!" Meghan cheered, bouncing from foot to foot as we walked down the hall to our last classes. "Quidditch tryouts are after school today." 

"Seriously? You're going to crush it." 

"Thanks! You'll come, right?" 

"As if I'd do anything else! I need to support my awesome cousin," I grinned. "What time should I be there?" 

"I don't know, I think Hufflepuff tryouts are first but other than that..." she shrugged.

I said, "Okay, I'll just get to see all the tryouts." 

"Bring a book." 

"No muggle or half-blood books, remember? That's like all I have with me: a crap ton of James Dashner and some classics." 

She frowned. "Oh, yeah. I tend to forget that's a rule. No one in Ravenclaw follows it inside the common room and dorms."

"Yeah, the rules go out the window in the privacy of our dorms, too. Hey, have you been practicing for tryouts?"

"Well, duh. Marietta Edgecomb taught me." 

"Who?" 

Minor character." The hallway split off up ahead, one way leading to Meghan's class and one to mine. 

"I'll see you later," I smiled. 

She smiled back. "See ya!" 

***

I dropped off my stuff in my dorm as soon as class ended. In the common room, my peers stretched, tossed Quidditch gear into bags, and polished their broomsticks. Zacharias Smith, a fifth-year, was showing off to some of the other students, who smiled politely and wished he'd go away. He was so stuck up. 

Shoving some of my homework into a bag to take with, I headed out the barrels. As I walked, someone ran to catch up to me. 

Zacharias. Just my luck. "Hey!" 

I smiled tightly. "Hi." 

"You trying out for the team?" he asked. 

"No, but my cousin is. I'm going to support her." 

"I am. I've played since my third year. I'm a chaser. So, you're the American girl. Why'd you leave? President Clinton making you nuts?" 

It took me a moment before I remembered I had gone back in time. "My parents got new jobs here." 

"Well, you're not as annoying as they say you guys are." 

"Was that a compliment or an insult?" 

He shrugged. "A healthy mix of both." 

I rolled my eyes, stepping outside and walking toward the Quidditch pitch. Zacharias hurried after me. "It's a long way to the pitch, wanna ride?" He held up his broom. 

"I'm good." 

"Aww, come on, sweetheart." 

"Don't call me sweetheart." 

He frowned. "That was rude." 

"What was rude was you talking to me like I'm lesser than you. Leave me alone," I snapped. 

He grabbed my wrist, stopping me. "Oh, come on, baby, don't be like that." 

"Let go!" 

His grip tightened but suddenly was gone when someone shoved him back, hard. "She said to leave her alone, douchebag!" 

Living in a book, I expected to turn and see Draco Malfoy. So cliche. But I had been reading too much fanfiction. Ginny stood there angrily, fists balled. 

He stood up. "I'd destroy you if you weren't a girl." 

"You could try. Get out of here." 

Huffing, he got onto his broom and flew off toward the pitch. I sighed in relief. "Thanks, Ginny." 

"No problem. What a jerk." 

"Tell me about it. Being a Hufflepuff, you'd think he'd be a bit nicer." 

"Yeah. Are you trying out?" 

I laughed. "No, no. You and Meghan are, though, so I thought I'd come to support you guys." 

Ginny grinned and walked with me down the hill toward the pitch. "That's nice. Thanks." 

"Of course. You're awesome, I'm sure you'll get on." I wasn't sure. Ginny didn't get on the team until Harry was kicked off by Umbridge and they needed a seeker. "What are you trying out for?" 

"Seeker." 

"But isn't Harry seeker?" 

She shrugged. "Yeah and they'll probably move me, but I'm really good at that, so I want to prove my skills. That's how I'll do it best."

"That's actually a really good idea." 

We reached the pitch and she turned away to head over to the Gryffindors waiting on their turn. "Bye!" 

"Good luck!" 

I went up to the bleachers. Not many people were there, and no one I knew except for Hermione. I went over to sit by her. 

She smiled. "Abby!" 

"Hey. Here to support Harry and Ron?" 

"Just Ron, Harry has detention. They'll give him back his old spot, though. He's too good for them to sacrifice. Who's doing tryouts first?" 

"Hufflepuff I think, but I'm not sure." 

The Hufflepuffs came out onto the field, answering her question and confirming my speculations. They were much better at Quidditch than I had thought from reading the books, and it was fun to watch. Next were the Gryffindors. Ron did well, but I knew it was because of Hermione's whispers under her breath. Mostly, I did homework instead of paying attention.

Then came the Slytherins. Draco did fantastically, it was fascinating to watch him fly. When he finished, he was walking off when he saw me, beamed, and ran over to the bleachers. I got up from my seat and went down to lean over the rail and talk to him. 

"Hey, seeker," I greeted.

"Technically, I'm not the seeker yet." 

"Yeah, but you'll totally get it. You were awesome." 

He smiled. "Thanks, Hufflepuff." 

Someone on the team called out his name, gesturing for him to get off the field since it was Ravenclaw's turn. He waved and ran over, giving the field to Meghan and the other tryouts. Hermione had left to go congratulate Ron, so I was alone. I didn't mind, though.

Meghan was not a bad player considering she had not ridden a broom before this September. Now, three months after, she was keeping up pretty well with the other students. When one of the beaters sent a bludger hurtling toward her head, she managed to swerve her broom to the side and turn, hitting it with the end of her broom and sending it back into the beater's shoulder. He tumbled off his broom, but made a recovery, luckily. 

Needless to say, Meghan Pickard became the fastest chaser on the Ravenclaw team by the end of the day. 

"That was nuts, did you see that?"

"Yes, Meghan, I saw that." 

"I just spun and knocked that bludger back and he was like ‘AH!’ and fell off and-" 

"Yes, Meghan, I know." 

"And I just threw the Quaffle right into the goal." 

"Yes, Meghan, I was there." 

"I can't believe I made it on the team." She sighed and tucked her gloves into her pocket. "The first game is in three weeks! Gee, that’s so soon. I’ll be ready, though. I've got five practices a week. We'll have to stop studying together so much." 

"WHAT? You have practice EVERY DAY? What kind of crazy-"

"Abby," she lectured, "Most sports have practice every day besides weekends." 

"That's ridiculous! Do you sleep? When do you brush your teeth? How do you go to the bathroom?" 

She smirked. "That's why you wear diapers." 

"YOU WHAT?"

"Relax. I'm kidding." 

I breathed a sigh of relief. But that still didn't fix my magic issues. "How am I supposed to pass my classes?" 

She rolled her eyes. "Abby, I have to practice and I suck at potions, which is basically chemistry. I hate chemistry. I need to focus on my own school work. You’ll be fine." 

"But I suck at, like, everything. Like Charms! I still can't do a silencing charm," I moaned, hopeless. We had started weeks ago and I still couldn't say the incantations right. Suddenly, an idea came to mind. "Wait! Meghan! I can help you with potions! Then you’ll have time to teach me!" 

She laughed. "You suck at potions." 

"Yeah, but Draco doesn't! He could help you!"

"No way I'm accepting help from Draco Malfoy." 

"Don't be so stubborn. He's really nice once you get to know him." 

"There you go again," she said, shaking her head, "being so naive. He's a Slytherin." 

I stopped, giving her an icy stare. "You and I both know that not all Slytherins are bad." 

"Yeah, but he is." 

"No, he's not! You've just only seen the bad side of him. " 

Meghan scoffed. "Look, I know you're all Hufflepuff-y and nice, but that makes you blind. He's a jerk- plain and simple. If you want to be friends with him, fine. But don't drag me into it." 

She walked away, broom gripped tightly in her hand. I watched her leave, feeling my chest tighten. I wasn't sure if it was anger or sadness, but I didn't care. Instead of heading inside, I took a long walk around the Hogwarts grounds. 

The lake glittered in the late afternoon light, the sunset's colors seeming to set it on fire. In the distance, the trees of the Forbidden Forest stretched up like fingers grasping at the pink, orange, and purple sky. I watched the sun descend over the horizon and sink into the lake.

Fireflies glittered and the sky was dark by the time I decided to go back inside. I went to the castle and toward the Hufflepuff dorms, going inside and shoving the door shut behind me with a clunk. It was very late, definitely past curfew, but I didn't care. 

To my surprise, there was still someone in the common room. My dorm mates normally turned in early. Unlike the Gryffindor dorms, our peak of energy was right after school- then you could find Hufflepuffs lounging on the floor, couches or chairs, napping or reading. At that time there was a lazy atmosphere and we all grouped together like the tight-knit family we were.

The girl on the couch stood up, rubbing her eyes sleepily. 

I smiled. "Eleanor." 

She smiled back. "Hey, Abby. Where were you?" 

"Walking. Meghan and I got into a fight." 

That woke her up. She went over and took the bag from me that I still had, setting it down by the couch and pulling me down onto it. Her arms wrapped around me and rubbed my back, mine returning the embrace. 

"What happened?" she asked.

I sniffled. My emotions were always so much more strong when it was late and I was tired. "She's ditching me to play Quidditch and she hates Draco."

Eleanor pulled back, sighing and taking my hand. "I'm so sorry. Do you want some advice or do you just want me to listen?" 

"Listen..." 

"Of course." 

"It's just that..." I stopped. "I know he's supposed to be a huge jerk. I know that. But he's been a loyal friend to me and I want to believe he's a good person. But maybe she's right. Maybe I am being stupid and I just can't see that he's playing me." 

She shook her head. "You're not stupid." 

"Yes, I am!" I said, beginning to cry, "I can't get a stupid spell right in any of my classes, my potions suck unless Draco helps me, and I can't make friends because I am such an anxious wreck that I freak out like some kind of pathetic baby!" 

I bit my lip, looking out the window to the left of the couch. It was the same peaceful scene as a few nights before- grass blowing gently and dandelions swaying in the night breeze.

"I can't even support my cousin right, El. All I do is complain and cry and mess things up for everyone around me! My job today was so simple. So simple! All I had to do was congratulate Meghan and watch her play. But somehow I managed to make her mad and now I'm keeping you up with my pathetic self-hatred and you have your Transfiguration test tomorrow and-" I hiccuped, tears still pouring, "and I'm really sorry that I'm so annoying and I burden you and- I'm so sorry!" 

She hugged me tightly, whispering, "No. No, no, no, no. You are not a burden to me. Never say that. You're my friend. And you're not annoying or stupid, either." 

I sighed, not believing her. "Thanks." 

"It's true." 

Eleanor sat with me and talked to me for another hour before we went upstairs to our dorm and went to bed.

I don't know what I would do without her.

***

The next morning, Meghan wasn't at breakfast. I assumed she had overslept from late-night studying, as she so often did, so I grabbed her a bagel for when I saw her in Care of Magical Creatures. 

She accepted the bagel and it seemed like our fight from the day before was forgotten. Our lesson was on Bowtruckles, which I loved from the Fantastic Beasts movies, so I had a great time taking care of a nice one that liked to sleep on the back of my hand. 

Meghan was not so lucky. Her Bowtruckle didn't like her and kept trying to climb up her arm with a mean scowl on its face. Care of Magical Creatures just wasn't her class. But what she lacked in animal care she made up for in Herbology. She and Neville Longbottom had become fast friends due to her skills and passion for it. During our Chinese Chomping Cabbage lesson, they worked together to draw a diagram of the plant that was eerily accurate. 

My diagram got an A (acceptable), but Neville and Meghan's received an O (outstanding). Sometimes the two of them would help Professor Sprout after school to help her with potting Mandrakes for the second years or watering Puffapods. 

When class ended, Meghan and I went back to the library to study. Quidditch practice didn't start until next week, so we still had time to work. 

I slid down in a chair by the giant glass windows overlooking the lake and opened up my Muggle Studies folder, pulling out my homework. 

Meghan sat across from me. "What kind of stuff do you even learn in Muggle Studies?" 

"Nothing. That's the problem. It's so boring. I think I may transfer to Divination." 

"I thought you didn't want to take that because the classroom is hot. Do you even believe in it?” 

“No. Fate is a construct of human perception and coincidence created to provide a false sense of security and uncertainty in the tumultuous reality of our existence. But Muggle Studies is the worst.”

"Well, whatever you decide, let me know." 

I looked down at my homework and sighed, writing down the names of major non-wizard figures in Muggle society. It was all very tedious. 

Someone sat down in the chair right next to me, startling me out of my angry thoughts about how stupid I was for taking Muggle Studies.

Draco smiled from the chair beside me. "Hey, Hufflepuff. What are you doing?" 

"Muggle Studies homework." 

Meghan looked between us, raising a brow, but said nothing, just kept scribbling on her Arithmancy paper. 

"Well, put that away, you're great at that class. Pull out your potions work." 

I did as he said, scowling at four pages of it. "I hate Snape." 

"He does give a lot of homework," Draco admitted. 

I scanned the first question. "When finished with the second round of brewing, what color should a Strengthening Solution potion be?" 

"Turquoise," Draco answered. He looked at his Astronomy paper. "What is the fourth-largest moon of Jupiter?"

"Io," I told him. "And number two is 42 hours." 

Draco wrote down my answers under the first question and the second, How long is the orbital period of Io?

"Have you finished your star chart?" he asked me. 

I shook my head. "Not yet. Almost, though. I've been distracted with my other homework. You?" 

"Not even close. Tell you what- you hand me this," he took a piece of parchment, "and I'll give you this.” He passed me his star chart. 

"What are you going to do with that?" I asked, tapping the parchment. 

"Write your potions essay. Unless you want to write about the properties of Moonstone." 

I laughed. "No. You can do it." 

It didn't take me long to finish Draco and I's star charts. I knew the constellations by heart from when I used to sit on my roof and stare up at the sky in all of its beauty. Draco finished the essays not long after and we switched back. He studied his chart, looking impressed. "You didn't even pull out your textbook." 

"What can I say? I'm a genius." 

He laughed. "Well, that is a killer essay. My conclusion was fantastic." 

"I'm sure. What, did you make a potions joke?"

"Very funny. I'm not that dull." 

Meghan finally spoke up. "Why are you here?"

Draco smiled. "Oh, you must be Meghan. I'm Draco." 

"Yeah, I know. I've heard about you. If I remember correctly, in your third year, you tried to get a Hippogriff killed when you threatened it and it defended itself, am I right?" 

Draco winced. "Not one of my proudest moments." 

"And I've heard you're very into your pureblood status. You really hate muggle-borns, don't you?" 

"I-" 

"You do know Abby is a muggle-born, right?" 

Draco sat back in his chair, sighing. "I'm not as obsessed as I was. I was young and I wanted to be like my father, so I listened to him and his prejudices. But I don't believe in that anymore." 

I crossed my arms at Meghan to prove my point from earlier. 

Draco continued, "If you don't want me here, I can go. I understand if-"

"No, it's alright," I interrupted, "Right, Meghan?" 

She eyed him warily but said. "Yeah, okay." 

From then on out, study sessions with Draco became more frequent since he could help Meghan so much with potions. We'd sometimes be joined by Ginny, Cho Chang, Hermione, Luna Lovegood, or Eleanor as the weeks crept on and the weather cooled. 

It seemed like in an instant the first Quidditch match of the season was upon us- Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw. 

Everyone was so excited, especially Meghan. The only friend of mine who wasn't in high spirits was Ginny, who hadn't made it onto the Gryffindor team. But she put on a smile and went to support her house anyway. 

The snow had not fallen yet, but it was cold, so students dressed warmly to go cheer their teams on. I only had Hufflepuff gloves, scarves, and hats, so Meghan let me borrow hers so I could cheer her on in full spirit wear. Eleanor, Luna, and I went to the game together. We stood in the stands near the front, bouncing from toe to toe as we waited for the game to start. 

I wasn't normally a sports fan, but this was going to be good. Finally, it began. 

The Gryffindors whizzed onto the pitch first, decked in red and gold. Across the stadium, their supporters roared. Flags swung in the air and people clapped as they circled the pitch and got into starting positions. 

Then came the Ravenclaw team, led by Roger Davies, team captain. He was closely followed by the other two chasers- Bradley Chambers and Meghan. My friends and I screamed in support and I caught Meghan's eye. She was beaming as the beaters followed. Then came their keeper and finally, their seeker- Cho Chang. 

They took their positions and the game began, Lee Jordan's commentary amplified with a Sonarus spell for everyone to hear, including some remarks about the attractiveness of the female players. 

The Quaffle soared toward Roger Davies, who ducked under his broom, surging up on the other side and catching it; he barely dodged a bludger and rocketing toward the goals. He aimed and chucked the ball. 

Ron Weasley tried to block it, but it tumbled through, earning ten points for Ravenclaw. He beamed as he high-fived Cho Chang and got back into position. 

"And Gryffindor takes the ball," Lee Jordan cried in delight. "It bounces from Angelina Johnson to Katie Bell! Oh, Ravenclaw takes the Quaffle! Bradley Chambers- no, Meghan Pickard, no- they're passing the ball like crazy! And Bradley scores for Ravenclaw!"

The chasers circled the pitch, weaving between the Gryffindor players, trying to take the ball. Alicia Spinnet held it, chucking it to Katie Bell. 

A Ravenclaw beater sent a bludger into Katie's broom, knocking her to the side. She dropped the Quaffle and Meghan dove to catch it, but Fred Weasly was faster, hitting the other bludger toward her and throwing her back. Angelina Johnson managed to get the Quaffle and scored for Gryffindor. 

The stands across from our own cheered and screamed, delighted that Gryffindor gained ten points. The game was tied 40-40 and no one has seen the Golden Snitch. Cho Chang and Harry Potter were both leaned forward on their brooms, searching the sky intently for the small winged ball. 

Meghan looked around, determined, watching as people fought for the Quaffle. Something seemed to dawn on her and her knees dug into the sides or her broom tightly. At the same time, Cho Chang saw what she did: the glint of gold as the Snitch flitted around. 

Cho shot toward it, Harry Potter close behind. 

"It's a race as both Seekers charge at the Snitch!" Lee Jordan hollered. 

Meghan charged right into the middle of the other players, straight at Katie Bell. It was almost a showdown, neither of them budging until finally, Katie swerved to the side to avoid impact as Meghan zoomed through the spot she had been in before. To slip between Fred and George Weasley, she bent down, pressing herself flat against the broom handle and spinning. The Bludgers just missed her as she stretched an arm below her broom and scooped up the Quaffle. 

"Did you see that?" Lee shouted, "Meghan has the Quaffle!" 

She pulled it into her chest in a tight embrace, gaining altitude quickly as she headed back toward the goal. 

Her eyes flickered to where Cho Chang and Harry Potter were climbing higher and higher, reaching for the Snitch that just kept flying up. 

"This is insane!" Lee cried.

Meghan aimed at the left goalpost and Ron flew in front of it to block her throw, but at the last second, she switched arms and chucked the ball into the right goal. The ding sounded, signaling that the game was over. 

Meghan, breathless, turned around and gasped in relief to see Cho Chang clutching the Snitch proudly. 

"And Ravenclaw wins. Nerds. And that was clearly Blatching!" Lee pointed out angrily. 

"Mr. Jordan," Professor McGonagall scolded, "Your commentary must be unbiased, remember?" 

"Sorry, Professor..." He grumbled. 

Luna, Eleanor, the rest of the Ravenclaw supporters, and I, cheered, jumping up and down and waving our flags. The Quidditch team members landed, running over and hugging one another. 

The Gryffindors left the pitch, feeling frustrated, but it did nothing to spoil our mood. The very first Quidditch game of the season was a victory!

Meghan didn't shut up the whole way back to the castle about how much fun it was, recounting the game second by second as if I wasn't there to see it all happen, but it was nice to hear her so excited about something. 

***

That evening, at dinner, Meghan was treated like a hero at the Ravenclaw table for scoring so fantastically. Roger Davies even said she could skip practice on Monday, meaning that she would get to hang out with me. 

But the best news I received all day was when Ginny hopped onto the bench next to me and said, "I have to tell you something!" 

I looked up. "What?" 

"It's a huge secret." 

"I gathered that. What is it?" 

She glanced around. Eleanor was watching from her seat next to me, confused. Ginny looked at her and was about to say something but I cut her off. "It's fine, she's my friend. Come on, spit it out!" 

"Harry Potter is calling a meeting at the Hog's Head Inn. You have to come." 

"A meeting?" I asked, pretending to be confused, "What would Harry Potter be calling a meeting for? And why would I be invited?" 

"Can't talk about it here... just... when we go to Hogsmeade, go to the Hog's Head Inn, okay?" she looked at Eleanor. "You can come, too, if you're willing to keep the secret. Okay, I have to go, I'm going to go invite Meghan!" 

She rushed off toward the Ravenclaw table. Giddiness built up in my stomach. Meghan and I were invited to the DA!

"That was weird," Eleanor mused. 

"Yeah. I wonder what the meeting is about." 

"Probably another horrific threat to Hogwarts student safety. You know, when I come home every year, my mom asks for the highlights of my school year and I have to lie and say, 'Oh, there was nothing special' because if I didn't, I'd be forced to move schools." 

I laughed. "I feel better about my transfer already." 

Suddenly, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see Meghan. 

"Abby, we have to talk." 

I glanced at Eleanor, who looked concerned. "See you later?" 

"Yeah," I answered as Meghan tugged my arm. She led me out of the dining hall and into the corridor. "What's up?" 

"Ginny just invited me to the DA! Well, technically, it's not the DA yet, but she told me to go to the meeting at the Hog's Head Inn when we go to Hogsmeade." 

"I know. She invited me, too." 

Meghan grinned. "I am so excited!" 

"Me too. The only problem is, I still suck at magic and I'm going to embarrass myself in front of Harry Potter once the DA starts." 

"No, you won't. I'll make sure of it. Come on, we've got to study, anyway. I'll teach you some spells while we're at it." 

"Thanks." 

I followed her through the halls and up the changing staircases, almost plummeting to my death on the way to Ravenclaw tower. We reached the heavy wooden door and I looked at the bronze eagle knocker. 

The knocker spoke in a deep voice, asking, "What is the truth?" 

My heart dropped as I remembered the way into Ravenclaw tower: you had to answer a riddle. But to my surprise, Meghan just smirked. 

"Veronica Elm is cheating on Andy Lopez with Will Franks." 

The knocker hesitated. "Well, yes, but-" 

"The sky is blue.” 

It paused again. “That’s correct, but-”

“This riddle thing is stupid.” 

“That’s a matter of opinion,” the knocker retorted. 

She scowled. “Okay, here’s the truth- you’re the worst. No one in Ravenclaw likes you because you’re insufferable.”

It seemed offended, though its expression didn’t change much. “That’s not the answer.” 

“You have gotta be shitting me right now. I swear to god you stupid hunk of metal- if you don't open that goddamn door right now I will bust your fucking face open. I had to stay up crazy late studying last night and then I had a Quidditch game (that I kicked ass at, by the way), and I had multiple extra curriculars. In Potions, I had to write two essays. Two! Three of my quills broke and I lost my favorite pencil so if you think you can just sit there like the ugly inanimate object you are and not let me into MY common room, you have another thing coming, you useless, annoying, hindering, fucking peice of garbage." 

The eagle knocker said nothing, just slowly opened the door, letting Meghan in. I scampered after her, shutting it behind me and looking at her with wide eyes. "How did you do that?" 

She laughed. "Oh, all the Ravenclaws do it. No one answers the riddles after their first year, we all just yell and cuss it out." 

I followed Meghan closely, making sure my bag covered the Hufflepuff emblem on my robes as we went to the back of the room to study. Technically, I wasn't supposed to be there. 

She tossed her bag down beside a desk, pulling up a chair for me. The room was elegant and round with marble statues and columns, bookcases, white walls, massive open windows framed by gold and sheer blue curtains that blew in the late evening air, behind which was the view of the nearby mountain range, and a domed ceiling enchanted to show the constellations against a deep blue background. 

I traced my hand over a smooth, dark-wood desk, smiling to myself. It was cool, but not unpleasantly so yet and I found myself feeling... free in the spacious environment. Ravenclaws dotted the room, most hunched over desks, scribbling away and a few on plush Victorian-style couches talking quietly or reading. 

"Your common room is awesome," I told her, looking at the flames in one of the white marble fireplaces nearest to us. It crackled and popped, and when the wind blew at the right angle, a waft of warmth would pass over me. Other than that, all that was heard was the scratching of quills on parchment, pages turning, murmurs, and the strong wind blowing. 

Meghan smirked. "I know. Take off your robes." 

I did as she said, also pulling off my black and yellow tie, slipping both under my chair. I didn’t think would give me trouble for being there, but I didn't want to risk it, just in case. I spun a globe on the corner of the desk, watching it spin around and around until Meghan stopped it with her hand. 

"Abby, do you remember what year the Giant Wars ended?" Meghan asked, frowning at her homework. 

"No." 

One of the Ravenclaws at a nearby desk said, "1889." 

"Thanks." 

I looked at Meghan strangely, but she didn't even seem to notice. With the quiet in the room, I began to focus on the soft words exchanged. Once in a while, a student would ask a question and someone else, even someone a few desks away, would answer without either of them looking up from their work. It was an exchange of knowledge, dates and Latin words whispered between students so that everyone would be able to learn. The environment it created was nice. Before it felt like everyone was in their own little world, but the few words spoken every five minutes or so made it more connected. 

I went back to my work, noticing the ticking of a grandfather clock as I read about Transfiguration. More specifically, a vanishing spell. 

I pulled out my wand and pointed it at the globe on the desk. "Evanesco," I whispered. 

The globe did not disappear. It was frustrating, but I reminded myself that Professor McGonagall said that this was one of the most difficult OWL level transfiguration spells. I tried again, focusing intently on the globe, but it still did not disappear. 

A different Ravenclaw at the desk next to ours quietly said, "Put your emphasis on the 'es' instead of the 'van.'"

"Thank you," I responded. 

The steps of students on the stone spiral staircase could be heard and the door creaked open as they entered their common room. I didn't pay attention, though, just looked at the globe.

"Evanesco," I repeated. 

The globe shimmered and disappeared. I beamed. Finally! I had been trying to master this spell for forever, it seemed. Meghan elbowed me gently, grinning in congratulations. As the night crept on, it got colder in the tower. Students shut all but one of the windows, which Meghan said was due to the fact that the remaining open window could not be closed as it was enchanted to stay open and help with the airflow. Otherwise, it got stuffy and stale. 

I had to put back on my robes because I was shivering, and others wrapped blankets around themselves. Eventually, Meghan stood up. 

"I'm going to get some blankets, want one?" 

I nodded, getting up as well and following her up the stone staircase to the girl's dormitory. She opened up her room and went to her bed. 

Like most rooms, there were five beds inside. Meghan's was the closest to the door on the left and she went over to it. Each bed was a dark wood four-post canopy bed with sheer blue curtains that fluttered due to the wind coming from the open window. There was a fireplace to warm the room, but it was still chilly. 

The beds had blue comforters and white pillows that looked very comfortable and small benches of dark wood at the bottom for students' belongings.

The white walls, gold trim, and wooden floor matched the rest of the Ravenclaw tower. It was regal, but I didn't have much time to admire it before Meghan left and I followed her down the steps back to our desks. 

I wrapped the blanket around my shoulders and went back to studying. It was very late before I went back to my own common room. After studying with Meghan in Ravenclaw tower, I came to understand how she could stay up so late caught up in her school work. It was an environment that you just felt comfortable working in. Plus, the low temperatures kept you awake. 

But as nice as it was, I was delighted to go down into the Hufflepuff common room, which was very warm, cozy, and homey. It was definitely where I belonged. 

***

Meghan and I were so excited when we arrived in Hogsmeade. Earlier, we were afraid we wouldn't get to go, but we forged our parents' signatures on the permission slips and now we were bundled up in robes, scarves, gloves, and hats to visit Honeydukes. 

When we combined our money, we were able to get lots of sweets that we stuffed in our pockets and some warm Butterbeer before going to the Hog's Head Inn for the meeting. 

The moment we entered the Hog's Head, I felt uneasy. It was kind of a sketchy place, but all was well when I saw Eleanor and her bright smile. 

She bounded over, excitement all over her face. "Abby, Harry Potter is about to start his meeting! I thought you'd left me to go to it on my own!" 

"Never!" I gave Eleanor a hug and handed her my extra Butterbeer which I had purchased earlier at The Three Broomsticks for her. 

She took it gladly and walked with Meghan and I over to the back corner where the others were bunched together. Many students had gathered: Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas, Parvati and Padma Patil, Cho Chang, Luna Lovegood, Katie Bell, Alicia Spinnet, Angelina Johnson, Colin and Dennis Creevey, Ernie Macmillian, Justin Finch-Fletchly, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Anthony Goldstein, Micheal Corner, Terry Boot, Ginny Weasley, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Zacharias Smith, Lee Jordan, and the Weasley twins. 

Hermione called everyone to order and proposed her idea for a secret Defense Against the Dark Arts class to defend ourselves against Voldemort. 

Right away, Zacharias Smith, the same Hufflepuff Quidditch player who harassed me before try-outs, got aggressive, demanding evidence that Voldemort had returned. Harry snapped back and everything became quiet and uncomfortable. 

Susan Bones piped up. "Is it true that you can make a full Patronus?" 

“Yes,” Harry confirmed.

There were whispers between students about how impressive Harry was. Eleanor nudged me. "He can make an entire Patronus?" 

"I guess so," I whispered back. 

Harry tried to be modest, and Zacharias tried to make people believe that he called us here for nothing and couldn't actually do anything. Fred and George threatened him to make him shut up and the meeting's tone became negative again. 

I felt bad for Harry, who looked uncomfortable in front of us, trying to pitch an idea he wasn't fully behind. Hermione saved the situation by trying to come up with a schedule. 

"It can't interfere with Quidditch," Cho Chang said, "for any of the houses." 

Luna frowned. "Cornelius Fudge has an army of Heliopaths." 

Heliopaths were spirits of fire. Hermione basically told Luna point-blank that she was crazy and everyone was in confusion again. 

Let's just say it wasn't off to a good start, especially because they hadn't found a place to meet yet. 

Hermione promised to update us and gave us a list to sign our names on, making us swear not to tell Umbridge or anyone else. It took some convincing from Eleanor and I but we got Ernie Macmillian, a Hufflepuff Prefect, to sign. 

Finally, Meghan, Eleanor, and I left. I sighed when we exited, looking at my breath as it froze midair. "That was a wreck." 

"Yeah," Meghan agreed, "That Zacharias guy sucks." 

"I know, right? He's the only person in our house that the Hufflepuffs don't like," Eleanor informed her. "He's so condescending. I have no idea why he was sorted with us." 

"He seems more Gryffindor-y to me," I noted.

Meghan shrugged. "Who cares? Come on, let's go do something fun!" 

Meghan's definition of fun was going to Spintwitches Sporting Needs for broom polish and new gloves. I have no idea how she already needed new gloves just one game into the season, but she insisted that she had to have them. 

Then we went to Zonko's so that Eleanor could get some Frog Spawn Soap to switch out with Zacharias Smith's and The Three Broomsticks for some more Butterbeer. It was a short trip, but I couldn't have asked for a better one. 

***

"Abby! Abby!" 

I looked up from my breakfast. Eleanor was dashing over to the table, jumping onto the bench frantically. 

My eyes widened. "What? What's wrong? Are you okay?" 

"It's Umbridge! She disbanded all student clubs!" 

Oh, that. "Oh my god! Can she do that?" 

"I guess so, she's the High Inquisitor. Abby, she even took apart Quidditch! We have to get the team reapproved and everything, it'll be forever before they start practicing again! We're totally going to lose the house cup!" 

"Aww, El, it'll be okay. Umbridge doesn't hate our house. I mean, she barely knows we exist. I don't think it'll be too hard to get reapproved. It's Gryffindor that’s going to get harassed over it." 

At that very moment, a roar was heard from the Gryffindor table and students jumped up. Someone must have just broken the news because they all were furious. 

I winced. I don’t like anger and yelling, it stresses me out. "Yikes." 

She nodded. "Yikes is right. I hate Umbridge so much! She is actually the worst. You really picked the worst year to transfer from Ilvermorny." 

I laughed. "I’m beginning to see that." 

Meghan and I made eye contact from across the Great Hall, exchanging knowing looks about what the future held for Hogwarts. 

***

Draco and I were walking to potions, discussing the recent events. We hadn't seen each other much between me studying with Meghan and his Quidditch practices, so I was glad to spend some time with him.

Unfortunately, he was in a sour mood. "He's making this all about him! Sure, Umbridge doesn't like him, but Potter is not the sole reason that she makes life miserable for everyone. She just likes making life miserable." 

"True. She's the worst." 

"Right? And Potter honestly thinks this is all about him! He's so conceited. He has to stop making himself so... well, the center of attention. It's dangerous and stupid. My father says it's only a matter of time before the Ministry has him carted off to St. Mungo's, apparently they have a special section for those whose brains have been addled by magic."

Draco said this as if it were a warning, implying the Ministry may hurt Harry, but Neville Longbottom, who stood nearby with Ron and Harry, took it as a threat. Neville shouted and launched himself onto Draco, knocking him to the ground. His fists and feet flew as he attacked Draco. 

Ron and Harry rushed forward, trying to hold Neville back, but it didn't do much good. I shoved myself between Neville and Draco, pushing Neville off of him and helping Draco up. 

Snape strode out of the classroom angrily. "What just happened?" 

"Longbottom attacked me!" Draco shouted. 

Snape narrowed his eyes. "Ten points from Gryffindor. Now get in the classroom- all of you!" 

We hurried inside, Harry and Ron sitting beside one another in the middle of the class, Neville in the back, and Draco and I near the front to them. Snape started talking about Strengthening Solutions, but I wasn't listening. 

"Are you okay?" I whispered. 

He nodded. "Fine." 

I could see a bruise welling up, though, so I sneakily pulled out my wand, avoiding Snape's eyes. "Episkey." 

The injuries on Draco's face vanished and he looked at me gratefully. "Thank you." 

Snape noticed us whispering and was about to get onto us when the door to the classroom opened and Professor Umbridge stepped in with a clipboard. I sat up straighter, not wanting to draw negative attention to myself. 

She announced that she was observing Snape, as was her job as High Inquisitor, which he did not like. It was a hilarious class period, seeing the tense exchanges between the two. I barely made it through without bursting out in laughter. I almost broke my quill gripping it so tightly. 

Draco and I left together, dying as soon as we left the classroom. 

"Oh my god! That was the best class ever!" 

Draco nodded in agreement, but couldn't even speak between his laughs. 

***

Eleanor, Meghan, and I were in the library trying to study when Hermione sat down beside us spontaneously. 

I jumped. "Oh, hi, Hermione." 

"We found a room for the lessons," she whispered to the group, "it's called the Room of Requirement. All you have to do is go to the seventh-floor, go to the left corridor, and find the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy. Across from that is a blank stone wall. Walk past it three times thinking about getting into the DADA meeting and a door will appear. Go through that door and boom! You're there." 

Eleanor's eyes were wide. "No way! You mean, we're using the Come and Go Room?" 

"That's one of its names, yes." 

"It once turned into a bathroom for me when I couldn't find one. I've heard rumors that Helga Hufflepuff made it so that any student that needed help could find it." 

I liked that idea. "Like how Salazar Slytherin made the chamber of secrets?" 

Eleanor nodded. "I suppose. But less violent." 

"Whoever made it, meet us there at 3:00 pm tomorrow, okay?" 

"Yeah, okay." 

Hermione grabbed her bag off the table and hurried off to go tell other members. I had no idea how that girl functioned with so much to do. 

Meghan sat back in her chair. "This is going to be awesome." 

"I don't know," Eleanor said meekly, "What if Umbridge finds out?" 

Meghan shrugged. "It'll be fine. She won't find out." 

***

"That is the ugliest tapestry I have ever seen," I commented when we found the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy (who I had to ask Eleanor about) teaching trolls ballet. 

"Agreed," said Eleanor. 

Meghan walked past the room for the third time, eyes shut in concentration. She stopped and looked at the wall. "Okay. It should work now." 

We waited until the wall shimmered and a heavy wooden door appeared. I bounded forward, opening it first and entering. Meghan and Eleanor followed close behind, looking around in awe. 

It was huge, with mirrors, shelves of DADA books, dummies, and our peers in the center, talking excitedly. Meghan, Eleanor, and I hurried over to the group. 

"This is amazing," said Lavender Brown. "Oh, Ron, you really outdid yourself." 

He shrugged. "It was more of Herminone's doing, but thanks." 

Luna Lovegood wandered in, dazed. "Oh my!" 

With three loud claps, Hermione got everyone's attention. "Alright, we're going to elect a leader, everyone. Any nominees?" 

Cho Chang's hand shot up. "Harry Potter!" 

The group nodded in agreement. That didn't take long. 

"Alright then," said Hermione, "What should we call our group?" 

Murmurs. No one knew. Cho Chang raised her hand again. "What about Defense Association? DA for short." 

Ginny scoffed. "That name sucks. How about Dumbledore's Army, since that's what the Ministry is so afraid of." 

"I like that," chimed Micheal, Ginny's boyfriend. 

Ginny still had a crush on Harry, but she liked Micheal, too, so she started dating him in hopes that would break her crush on Harry. So far, it hadn't, but she was happy. 

Harry smiled. "Alright, then. Dumbledore's Army. Split off in pairs of two to practice the disarming charm, Expelliarmus. In case you've forgotten, the hand motion is down, then make a swirl like a ladle."

Meghan chose Luna Lovegood, so Eleanor and I partnered up. 

"You can go first," I offered. 

She grinned. "Expelliarmus!" 

My wand shot out of my hand, rolling off behind me until it came to a stop at the wall. My jaw dropped. "Damn, Eleanor! That was really good!" 

I ran over, grabbing my wand and returning. I took a deep breath. "Expelliarmus!" 

Eleanor's wand flew out of her hand, not nearly as far as she had thrown mine, but far enough. She smiled. "Nice job!" 

"Thanks!" 

We kept repeating the spell, getting a bit better each time. Eventually, though, we worried Eleanor would break my wand, so it was just me practicing. Harry walked around the room, giving pointers. He stopped to watch Meghan and Luna, who were next to us. 

"Expelliarmus!" Meghan cried, sending Luna's wand flying. 

Harry nodded in approval. "Nice, uh..." 

"Meghan." 

"Nice, Meghan." 

Luna returned with her wand, narrowing her eyes in concentration and saying, "Expelliarmus!" 

Meghan's wand didn't go very far.

"Try to swirl your wand in sharper movements," Harry suggested. Luna repeated the action, this time much more successfully. "Good job." 

Next, he went to Eleanor and I. "Hello. I'm Harry." 

"Eleanor," piped my friend. 

I waved awkwardly. "Abby." 

"Show me what you've got, Abby." 

I blew out a puff of air from my cheeks, trying to calm my nerves. It was much harder when someone was watching, especially if that someone is Harry Potter. 

"Expelliarmus!" 

Eleanor's wand jumped backward and hit the wall. Luckily, it didn't break, but it was close. I winced. "Sorry!" 

She waved me off, jogging over to pick it up. "No problem. That was your best one yet!" 

"Not bad, Abby," said Harry. "Your turn, Eleanor." 

Eleanor did the spell just as successfully as I did, earning praise from Harry before he moved onto the next group- Cho Chang and Marietta Edgecomb. 

Cho, in a girlier voice than normal, said, "Expelliarmus!" 

Marietta's sleeve burst into flames. She screamed, not knowing what to do.

"Stop, drop, and roll!" Meghan yelled. 

Marietta frantically did as she was told, catching the attention of the entire DA. The fire went out and she breathed deep sighs of relief, staring up at the ceiling from her place on the floor. 

Cho Chang looked mortified. "I'm so sorry, Marietta, are you okay?" 

"Fine," she winced. “Not hurt. Just scared.”

"That was lousy," Harry told Cho, "but I know you can do it properly, I was watching from over there earlier. Don't get distracted." 

She nodded, still looking embarrassed. "Sorry, I haven't been practicing. My parents have forbidden me from getting on the wrong side of Umbridge and the Ministry. But since Cedric died... I want to keep fighting." 

The room was very awkwardly quiet. My housemates exchanged looks. 

Luna spoke, "My dad is very supportive of any anti-Ministry action." 

More awkward silence. 

"Okay," Hermione announced with a clap, "Let's wrap up. We'll meet again on Wednesday at the same time. Thank you, everyone!" 

People started talking and walking off in small groups, aside from Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Meghan, Eleanor, and I left together, discussing how it went. 

"I felt like it was boring," said Eleanor. 

"It'll probably get more interesting as it goes on. This was only the first day," Meghan reminded her. 

Eleanor shrugged. "I hope so." 

***

I sat in Transfiguration and turned the fake Galleon over in my hand, running my thumb over it. "This was a really cool idea, Hermione." 

She grinned. "Thanks! I figured we needed something to communicate in secrecy." 

"We can use thing right under Umbridge's nose, and she won't find out." I smirked, "This was genius, truly. Have you finished handing them out?" 

"Yep, you were the last one on my list." She watched the hallway, her foot tapping rapidly below the table. 

"You okay? You seem... jittery." 

She laughed breathlessly. "Yeah, sorry. It's just that one of Gryffindor's Quidditch games is this afternoon against Slytherin. Ron is really nervous, so now I'm nervous for him. He's been struggling and he doesn't have the confidence in himself that he needs." 

I nodded. Draco had been talking about the game all week. He was sure that they would win. I couldn't remember from the book if they did or not. It was nice to have some uncertainty for a change. 

Teachers had been showing favor toward houses in the last week. McGonagall didn't give any of her classes with Gryffindors homework and Snape reserved the pitch all week. 

"Don't be, 'Mione. He'll be fine. Besides, even if it doesn't go well, there's no big loss. It's just a game." 

"I suppose." 

Professor McGonagall rapped a ruler on the podium, calling the student's attention. "Good afternoon, class. Today, you will be turning dinner plates into candles." With a wave of her wand, glass plates appeared on each student's desk. I ran a finger around the edge of mine. It certainly was a nice plate. 

"Now, wands out. Repeat after me. Mutatiolucerena!"

"Mutatiolucerena!" 

In a flash of orange light, my plate changed from a plate to a candle. I gasped. "I did it!" 

Hermione, who also had a candle in front of her, smiled. "Nice job!" 

Professor McGonagall spoke individually to the students that did not succeed, giving them tips. The rest of us continued to perform the spell as stacks of dinner plates appeared. Eventually, the classroom was covered in candles and everyone could do the spell. 

"Class dismissed," said Professor McGonagall. 

We all left in a hurry as she waved her wand, making the candles disappear and new plates appear for the next class. Hermione and I went opposite directions as I went toward my dorms. 

Eleanor was in our dorm room when I came in, shrugging off her robes so that she would be more comfortable. 

"Hey, El."

"Hey. Are you going to the game?" 

"Yeah, I'm going to cheer for Draco. But it's going to be freezing." The last thing I wanted to do was leave the warm den that was the Hufflepuff dorms, but lucky for Draco, I was a great friend. 

So, I pulled off my tie, leaving it on my bed, and slid on a pair of gloves. Eleanor hopped up and grabbed a rock from her nightstand. 

"I almost forgot! I learned a new spell." She pointed her wand at the rock. "Tempuscalor Tribus!" 

She passed the rock to me and my body instantly warmed. My eyes went wide. "Whoa!" 

"I know, right? As long as it’s enchanted (which should be for about three hours) and you have skin contact with the rock, you’ll be as warm as you want to be." 

"Thanks, El!" 

"No problem. Have fun at the game!" She flopped onto her bed, pulling out her homework as I walked out, shutting the door behind me. 

The walk to the Quidditch pitch wasn't miserable with my new fancy magic rock. In fact, I enjoyed it. The snow wasn't so bad when you were perfectly warm. 

"Abby!" 

I turned to see Draco running up to me, grinning. "You came!" 

"Of course I came. I said I would." 

"Yeah, but I thought you might bail because of all the snow." 

I scoffed. "Nah." 

He removed a Slytherin scarf from his neck, wrapping it around mine. "So you don't get cold." 

I smiled, trying to ignore the fluttery feeling in my stomach. No one I liked had ever given me a scarf before. Mostly because they didn't know I existed. I liked the change of pace. "Thanks." 

"Draco!" Called one of his teammates, "Hurry up!" 

"Gotta go," he said apologetically. "See you after the game!" 

"Good luck!" 

Draco ran off to meet with his team while I climbed into the Slytherin bleachers. I didn't have any friends in Slytherin besides Draco, so I felt awkward while choosing a place to sit until someone tapped my shoulder. 

"Hey, you're Abby, right? Draco's friend?" asked a girl with dark brown hair. 

"Yeah," I answered. 

"I'm Astoria Greengrass. I'm friends with Draco, too." 

Astoria Greengrass- Draco's future wife. Although, with my presence, the story could always change... 

"Nice to meet you!" 

"You look like you don't have a place to sit. Come sit with me and my friends," she invited kindly. 

"Thanks." 

I followed her through the crowd to a great spot in the front row. There sat two other girls. One had attractive, sharp features and dark hair. The other had a squarish figure and short hair. 

"This is Pansy Parkinson," she gestured toward the attractive girl, "and that is Millicent Bulstrode." 

I waved. "Hi, I'm-" 

Millicent glared at me. "You're the American transfer that Draco has been hanging out with so much." 

Pansy elbowed her. "Mill, don't be so rude. She's Draco's friend, so she's our friend, too." 

Millicent crossed her arms huffily. "Fine." 

Just then, the Gryffindors flew onto the pitch in robe ripples of gold and scarlet. The stands across from us roared with excitement, cheering as Angelina Johnson led the way onto the pitch. 

After, the Slytherin team rose up, their captain in front, followed by the chasers (including Blaise Zabini), beaters (Crabbe and Goyle), the keeper and, lastly, the seeker (Draco). Millicent, Astoria, Pansy, and I cheered loudly as our friends swept by us. 

The game began and it wasn't very eventful. Slytherin kept scoring, mostly due to Ron's inability to guard the posts well. 

Then the Slytherin supporters started singing. I was confused at first until I heard the words. 

"Weasly cannot save a thing, he can't block a single ring, that's why Slytherins all sing, Weasley is our king!" 

That's when I noticed the badges that people were wearing that read, "Weasley is our king!" 

Oh. We're at that part of the book. 

Ron, completely distracted, didn't notice as Blaise Zabini knocked the Quaffle through a goal, earning cheers from the stands as Slytherin gained ten points. 

I looked over at Astoria, who wasn't wearing a badge. "What are they singing?" 

She sighed. "Some stupid song Draco and Pansy made up to taunt Ron Weasley." 

"It's so mean!" 

Astoria shrugged. "Yeah, but what can we do? I hate Slytherins like that. They give the whole house a bad rep." 

I patted her shoulder reassuringly. "I'm really sorry about all the prejudice." 

"Well, it has some truth. There are crappy Slytherins. But there are crappy people in other houses, too. Like in Gryffindor there’s Percy Weasley. He’s such a prick. Or Romilda Vane. She’s a psychopath. Sirius Black was a Gryffindor! And he’s a mass murderer!” 

Well, no, but Peter Pettigrew was a Gryffindor. “Yeah.” 

“Or Ravenclaw. How about Professor Quirrell? He had Voldemort growing on the back of his freaking head! And Professor Lockhart was so full of himself. Moaning Myrtle is a peep. Their house sucks, sometimes, too.” 

I nodded. “It does make me uncomfortable when Moaning Myrtle appears out of nowhere. She’s started straying from her bathroom, lately. One time she popped out of the toilet while I was still using it.” 

“Me too! I can’t really think of any mean Hufflepuffs, but…” 

“Zacharias Smith,” I supplied, “but it’s true that there’s never been a dark wizard to come out of Hufflepuff.”

She sighed miserably. “Yeah. I just wish some members of my house were nicer. I swear, there’s always fights going on in the Slytherin dueling dungeons.”

“Between whom?” 

“Typically some arrogant Gryffindor and a pissed off Slytherin. They’re always using it. Ever been?”

“Briefly. The Hufflepuffs know about pretty much all the secret passages in the castle. We like tunneling through them.” 

She laughed. “Like badgers.” 

“Yeah. Harry Potter thinks he’s a genius because he’s got this map with the passages shown on it. Totally believes that he’s the only one that knows about them and uses them.” 

“You should show me sometime!” 

“Sure.”

"Weasley was born in a bin, he always lets the Quaffle in, Weasley will make sure we win, Weasley is our king!"

The crowd went wild as Ron missed another throw and the Quaffle sailed through the goal post. On the Slytherin side, it was in joy. On the Gryffindor side, it was in anger.

"Weasley is our king, Weasley is our king, he always lets the Quaffle in, Weasley is our king!" 

At the same time, I saw Draco and Harry both dive down, ready to catch the Snitch. Their arms stretched out to reach it when Harry was hit by a Bludger from Crabbe. He toppled off his broom and onto the ground, which, luckily, wasn't far below him. But it didn't matter. He held the Snitch triumphantly anyway, resulting in a win for Gryffindor. 

"We were so close," groaned Millicent. 

The players landed, walking off to the changing rooms to get into their clothes. I waved goodbye to the girls hastily and hurried through the crowd, apologizing as I pushed through. 

I made it halfway down the bleachers, the changing rooms were to the right and Hogwarts straight ahead. Spectators went toward the castle, but I paused on the steps to see the exchange to my right. 

Draco was jeering at Harry Potter, insulting Ron and his family. Suddenly, Harry and a nearby George Weasley lost it, jumping on Draco and tackling him to the ground. The Gryffindor teammates grabbed Fred to keep him out of it and tried to approach the fight, but backed off. 

I dashed down the steps, yelling, “Harry! George! Stop it!”

Both quidditch teams seemed unsure of what to do. Their members would inch forward and then back off again. I, on the other hand, am dumb, so I shoved myself between Draco and the two Gryffindors. 

Someone’s fist hit me, I’m not sure whose, but I ignored the throbbing in my jaw and put my hands out in defense, a shield from any more blows.

Once they were separated, everyone seemed to calm down very quickly. 

Harry grimaced, “Sorry, Abby!”

“It’s fine,” I managed, breathing heavily. “What the hell, guys?” 

“He was insulting my family!” George protested, pointing an accusing finger at Draco. 

Madam Hooch bustled over, blowing her whistle angrily before anything more could happen. "Weasley! Potter! Go to Professor McGonagall- now! Malfoy- go see Snape!" 

She glared at me over her shiny whistle. "Who are you?" 

"I-" 

"Just go to Snape!" 

Wide-eyed and scared, I followed Draco toward the castle. He looked over at me guiltily. "I'm sorry." 

"It's okay, I chose to get involved." 

He sighed. "Thanks for helping me." 

"You're my friend. Of course, I'd help you. Are you okay? Are you hurt?" 

"No, just a bit bruised." 

That wasn't true. His lip was split and there were injuries covering his face. I pulled out my wand to heal him but he stopped me. "Don't yet. It's evidence." 

"Suit yourself. Do you think Snape is going to poison me?" 

"I doubt it." 

"He's probably going to drown me in a cauldron of oil. I'm going to be in so much trouble!" 

Draco squinted at me. "Why would he have a cauldron of oil?" 

"I don't know, all I know is he's going to murder me. Avada Kedavra and there I go. Poof!" 

"Okay, A, that’s not how killing curses work, and B, you'll be fine. It's Weasley and Potter that will end up in hot water." 

That reminded me. "Speaking of, why were you taunting them?" 

He sighed, pushing open the door to the school and holding it for me so that I could step in, then following at my side. "They beat us. I guess I was sour about it. But I shouldn't have been." 

"Why did you make up that song?" 

His face sunk lower. "It was a joke- Pansy and I were talking about it the other day, it was meant to stay between us. But then... well, she took an extra step." 

"So, the badges weren't you, either?" 

"No." 

We arrived outside Snape's classroom and Draco knocked. Intense footsteps sounded against the stone as our teacher approached the door and opened it. He raised a brow at us. "What do you want?" 

"There was a fight on the Quidditch pitch, Professor, Madam Hooch sent us down here to see you." 

He sighed heavily and opened the door wider. "Get in." 

Draco entered and I made sure to stay close. We stood in front of Snape's desk, shoulder to shoulder. He examined me skeptically. "Who are you?"

"My name’s Abby." 

"Hmm. I thought I knew all of the students in my house." 

I shook my head. "I'm a Hufflepuff. I don't know why Madam Hooch sent me here." 

He pointed at Draco's scarf that still hung around my neck. "I'd assume it is because of the green and silver scarf." 

I flushed red. That was a good point. "Oh. Yeah." 

"Mr. Malfoy, what exactly happened?" He paused, "Actually, I don't care. Go to the High Inquisitor. She'll deal with you." 

My blood froze. The only thing worse than being punished by Snape is being punished by Umbridge. 

Draco walked out without another word, and I followed with a quiet, "Thank you." 

We went up to her disgustingly pink office and stepped in to find Professor McGonagall, Harry, and George already there. 

Umbridge smiled sickeningly. "Mr. Malfoy." 

Draco nodded and gave a tight-lipped smile in greeting. 

She looked at me, crinkling her nose. "Who are you?" 

"Abby." 

"Well. Good thing beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” 

Draco opened his mouth to say something but I gave him a subtle kick- not hard enough to hurt. 

"Snape sent us,” I told her.

"Ah," she mused. "Well, I have just forbidden Mr. Potter and the Weasley twins from Quidditch. How were you involved?" 

"They attacked me," Draco accused, "They both tackled me." 

Somehow, the sympathetic look on Umbridge's face made me want to puke even more than her insults. "Poor dear. And you?" 

I didn't know what to say. "Uh, well, I saw the fight and I ran over to help." 

Her eyes went cold. "Help Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley?" 

"No, no, I was breaking it up." 

"And that is what you call helping? You didn't wait for an adult to deal with it?

"I… I was worried about their safety and-" 

Draco interrupted me to say, "She saved me, Professor." 

With the good input from Draco, she seemed satisfied with me. "Both of you may go." 

We left as quickly as possible. I shuddered. "There were way too many kitten teacups in there."

"I know. And too many doilies." 

“Thanks for the backup.” 

He smiled, shoving me a bit with his shoulder. “No problem, Puff.”

***

Hagrid had returned from his trip, so Care of Magical Creatures was interesting again. The substitute had been so, so boring, and we spent most of our time talking about Flobberworms. Let's just say that they were the most torturous weeks of my life.

On his first day back, we got to learn about Thestrals, which he summoned with an odd-looking whistle. Neither Meghan nor I could see them, which was unnerving when they brushed against us.

Umbridge reviewed Hagrid's teaching condescendingly. But all in all, it was fun to watch Hagrid feed the Thestrals and the food to seemingly disappear as they ate it.

On our walk back to the castle, I felt a buzz in my pocket. On instinct, I reached for it, thinking it was my phone before I remembered that my phone, which didn't work, was buried in my suitcase. Instead, I pulled out the magical Galleon that Hermione had given me.

Meghan had done the same and we now stared down at the numbers around the edge. Instead of a serial number, the time and date of the next meeting was shown. Today, since we had meetings every Wednesday.

"I almost forgot!" I exclaimed to Meghan.

"Me too. Thank god Hermione made them give us reminders. Hey, I was wondering, since Christmas is coming up and we have to stay at Hogwarts, does that mean we get to do whatever while we're here?"

"Well, within school rules, yeah."

"Sweet. I think you and I can finish catching up on the first through fourth-year work. We'll have tons of time."

She smiled. "Sounds good to me."

We entered the castle and headed toward the seventh floor.

"So what do you want for Christmas?" Meghan asked me.

I shrugged. "World peace. A life. My phone to work again. You realize that it's been four months since our phones have worked, right?"

"How about something that I can wrap?"

"Antidepressants."

"Abby, come on."

"Alright, alright. How about... a sweater? I love sweaters so much. And warm socks. They’re just so cozy."

Meghan laughed. "Okay."

"What do you want for Christmas?"

"Ravenclaw to win the House Cup."

"You're just as bad as me."

"Hey!"

"Hey!" I cried, fake offended that she was fake offended to being compared to me.

Meghan thought for a moment. "Vinyl. There's a record player in our dorm room and we desperately need new music. Cho keeps playing the same Billy Joel album over and over."

I gasped. "Billy Joel is awesome!"

"Yeah, but not after putting him on repeat for four months."

"That's a fair point."

We reached the tapestry and walked back and forth three times, imagining the DA room. The door appeared and we went in to join the class.  
Immediately, Ginny ran up to us, giddy. "Guys! Guess what?"

Meghan and I exchanged glances, confused. "What?"

"I'm the new Gryffindor Seeker!"

"Oh my god, Ginny, that's amazing!"

"I know! I mean, it sucks that Harry, Fred, and George are off the team, but look on the bright side, right? Ugh, I'm so excited!"

Harry clapped to get everyone's attention. We quieted down and looked over to listen. He looked grim, probably due to being banned from Quidditch. "Okay. You've all improved so much, especially you, Neville. Today, we're just going to review. Try out Disarming Charms, Impendment Jinxes, Reductor Curses, Stunning Spells, and Bat-Bogey Hexes with a partner or dummy and I'll walk around, giving pointers."

We dispersed, me meeting up with Meghan. Eleanor was sick with Levitating Sickness after trying out the Levicorpus spell on herself one two many times and was back in the Hufflepuff dorm with a trashcan to throw up in and some Applesauce.

"It's so weird that we're halfway through the school year," Meghan said thoughtfully. "We've been here for so long."

"Yeah. Do you miss Uncle Charlie and your parents?"

She shrugged. "Sometimes. Not my parents as much, but yeah, I really miss Uncle Charlie."

"Well they don't miss us considering the portal will spit us back only seconds after we left."

"That's so weird to think about."

"Yeah."

"Do you miss them?"

I sighed. "My parents, some. Uncle Charlie, yeah. My cats, desperately. I even miss Ryan."

Meghan laughed at that. Ryan, my little brother, had just finished fifth grade and loved caves. I can't tell you how many educational vacations I've had to go on to see caves and mines. It's actually pretty cool the first couple times, but it gets really old really fast.

When class ended, Harry promised that he'd teach us how to use a Patronus after Winter break, so I was in a good mood on my way back to the dorm. I went up to my dorm and smiled sympathetically at poor Eleanor, who wiped her mouth with a tissue and threw it into the trash with a groan. 

"Feeling any better?" 

"No." 

I went over, doing my best not to gag as I waved my wand at the trash can, saying, "Evanesco." 

The vomit disappeared and I smiled proudly. I had finally mastered the Vanishing Spell from Transfiguration. Maybe I will pass my O.W.Ls. 

Eleanor drew the quilt up to her chin, looking miserable. "Thank you." 

"No problem. I wish Madam Pomfrey could do something," I said, sitting down on my bed, which was beside hers. 

"Well, she says it'll pass in a couple of days. I'll be fine." She lunged for the trash can, retching as she poured her guts out. 

I jumped up and ran over, grabbing her caramel hair to pull it back from her face. She finished, wiping her mouth with a tissue. "Thanks again." 

"Of course." I waved my wand again to make the throw up disappear. "Better?" 

"Some." 

"Well, that's good." 

I returned to my bed, shrugging off my robes and taking off my jumper, tights, shoes, and tie. Left in my white dress shirt and gray pleated skirt, I was much more comfortable.

Eleanor still wore her pajamas- gray sweatpants with Hufflepuff written down the leg and the house crest and a white t-shirt that hung loosely on her knotted in the center. Despite her messy hair, PJs, and sleepy expression, she looked really pretty. Her light freckles still dotted her nose and upper cheeks adorably and her hazel eyes still caught the afternoon sunlight coming from the window. 

I pulled out a book and opened it up, wanting to read recreationally for once. It seemed like I was always reading textbooks lately. 

"G'night," Eleanor mumbled, turning over. 

It wasn't night, but she needed all the rest she could get, so I smiled and said, "Goodnight." 

*** 

The holidays were close at hand and Winter break had finally begun. The Hogwarts Express departed early on a Saturday morning, taking with it Draco, Pansy, Millicent, Cho, Luna, Neville, and a mostly recovered Eleanor. Ginny and Hermione had left a few days ago due to Mr. Weasley being injured. 

When the train left, I had waved from the station with the other students that were saying goodbye to their friends and went back to the castle and into the Great Hall for breakfast. Surrounding the room were 12 pines decked with candles, bubbles, icicles, ribbons, and sparkles that Professor Flitwick had conjured. Snow fell from the ceiling but disappeared near the bottom of the giant wreath so that it didn't fall on the students. The tables had less food than normal, and the houses were mixed instead of separated, so

I sat down at the Ravenclaw table beside Meghan. 

"You didn't go down to the train station." 

"I was too hungry." 

I laughed. "That's a mood." 

One of the Gryffindors looked at me weird and I remembered that 2019 meme culture wasn't a thing yet, so I sounded really weird. Time travel is so complicated. 

"Poor Ginny," Meghan commented, "she's probably so worried about her dad." 

"Yeah, but he'll be fine." 

"But she doesn't know that." 

"True." 

I finished off my breakfast and waited for Meghan to eat hers, then we went to the library and studied for a few hours. At this rate, we would be all caught up in a week, so we would still have another week for relaxation. 

The Hufflepuff dorms felt more empty than usual because almost everyone went home. There were only six other students in my house that had stayed behind, all in different years than I. Going from 70 students in the extensive dormitory to six was very, very different. 

Professor Umbridge stayed over break, unfortunately. Most teachers went home to their families, but of course, she was still here. The only other ones who stayed were Professors McGonagall, Snape, Flitwick, Sprout, Dumbledore, Trelawny, and Hagrid. The teachers had private quarters attached to their offices that they stayed in, thankfully, so Umbridge spent most of her time in her office or her quarters. 

As for me, I spent many of my days reading in the huge windowsills of the Hogwarts library while the snow whirled outside or curled up napping in my dorm room. Meghan and I would meet in the library to study together and take walks in the castle. Occasionally, we'd go to classroom 5B, an empty classroom to talk just for a change of scenery. 

The person that was most affected by the cold was Meghan. She and the eleven other Ravenclaws left behind couldn't close the window very much, so their fires burned 24/7.

It was also cold in the Slytherin dorms. Not as bad as Ravenclaw, but they were sneaking into the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor dorms, too. It's ridiculous that Gryffindor tower has air circulation and therefore doesn't have to open the window (so it isn't cold) but Ravenclaw tower doesn't; I had no idea why it was like that. But we coped. 

In total, Hogwarts has a student population of 280, approximately. That means that there were 70 students per house- 35 girls and 35 boys (roughly, Hufflepuff tended to have more girls and Gryffindor tended to have more boys). Each dorm room has five beds, so there are around seven rooms for each gender. Of course, magic could always be used to expand or add dorm rooms, which was frequently done each year to adjust to the growing student body and make gender-neutral ones. 

There were about 25 students still at Hogwarts during the break, around half of those being frozen Slytherins and Ravenclaws. So they went to the warmer dorms like birds in migration, bringing the number of students in the Hufflepuff dorms to 17, including Meghan and I. 

Meghan loved the Hufflepuff common room and our dorms, spending almost all her spare time reading in front of the fire. 

"It's so much warmer down here, like a cozy little den," she would say. 

Time passed quickly, and soon I was caught up on first through fourth-year skills. It was a good feeling like suddenly I was just as capable as everyone else- and I was! 

Meghan and I even jumped onto spells that weren't part of the curriculum just to help us out in general. I could officially clean a room with the wave of my wand. Going back to real life would suck after this. 

When the holidays ended and the train returned, the Ravenclaws and Slytherins reluctantly went back to their own dorms, but we promised that if they needed to, they could always come back and we'd conjure some extra beds. I had a feeling they would take us up on that later. 

Eleanor fully recovered over winter break, so she was the same bouncy ray of sunshine she always was again. That is, until a week after the break when she slammed a paper down on the table at breakfast in front of me. 

"What-" 

"Look!" 

I obeyed, reading the giant headline at the top. 

Massive Azkaban Breakout: 10 Death Eaters Free! 

Eleanor's eyes were wide as saucers and fearful. "Bellatrix Lestrange got out. And a Ministry official is dead! And they say the notorious Sirius Black helped them! Oh god..." 

"El, calm down, okay?" 

She sat down, looking very stressed. "I can't believe this." 

"They're not going to hurt us, okay? What are we to them? Nothing. We're not worth the effort. Don't worry, they're not after us." 

"There's more bad news." 

"What?" 

She sadly bit into a muffin. "Hagrid has been put on probation." 

"Seriously? That sucks. Umbridge sucks." 

"Yeah. And she made a new decree. The teachers aren't allowed to tell us about it at all." 

I thought back to my most recent lessons. Umbridge had been at every Care of Magical Creatures class. Maybe that was because of Hagrid going to meet with the giants and she didn't want us to know about it. 

That afternoon, after Transfiguration, Eleanor and I went up to the seventh floor for our DA meeting. Today was finally the day that Harry was going to teach us how to cast a Patronus. I wondered what mine was. I had taken the test on Pottermore, but I got different results. Besides, maybe my real Patronus would be different. 

Harry gave us our instructions and we broke off. I searched my mind for my happiest memory, but I wasn't sure what it was. I had good memories, of course, but many of them had turned sad over the years due to death or an ended friendship. 

I thought about when my cousins and I were dragged to a cave in Missouri because of my brother's obsession and how we spent the entire trip wearing Boonie hats and talking in Australian accents. We laughed the whole time. 

"Expecto Patronum!" 

There was a flash of blue light, but it fizzled out. Not happy enough. 

I thought about my best friends and I getting slushies at 7-11 annually on 7/11 day since they were free and giving ourselves brain freezes. 

"Expecto Patronum!" 

There was the same amount of blue light, but once again, it disappeared. I sighed. I didn't have a ton of happy memories that really stood out. 

I remembered going to Harry Potter World in Universal Studios. No Patronus. 

I thought about getting Oliver in Diagon Alley. No Patronus.

I recalled the endless Facetime calls with Meghan when we would joke and gush about our fandoms. Still no Patronus. 

Sighing heavily, I looked over at Meghan. She was having a hard time, too, along with the rest of the class. That made me feel a bit better. At least I wasn't the only one. 

I shut my eyes, envisioning my friends and me on our 8th-grade field trip to Washington D.C. It was a simple memory- we were just playing Kemps, laughing and talking loudly. The cards kept slipping since we had to play on our laps due to the fact that we were on the bus. 

I felt a warm sensation rushing through me. Blue light emitted from my wand. I opened my eyes, watching as a shining sparrow flew out of the tip of my wand. It flapped its wings, flying upward with a thin trail of blue light that shone. 

"I did it!" I shouted. 

Harry nodded in approval. "Good work." 

I looked around. Ginny had also gotten her Patronus as well as Hermione. Meghan looked distressed, so I turned to help her. 

"Having a hard time finding a memory?" 

She nodded. "I don't do much, so it's hard to decide." 

"What about winning the Quidditch match?" 

She grinned. "That's a good one." 

Meghan shut her eyes and concentrated before yelling, "Expecto Patronum!" 

A silver horse burst forth, galloping around the room and tossing its mane majestically and leaping over a chair. It attracted gasps, oohs, and ahhs. 

"Wow," was all I could say. 

She put her hands on her hips proudly. "I made a Patronus!" 

"Yeah, you certainly did." 

*** 

Soon, Valentine's Day was upon us. Everyone spontaneously had a significant other so they wouldn't be alone for the holiday that would certainly fall apart within a week.

Ginny was with Micheal Corner, Cho was with Harry Potter, Luna was with Neville, Millicent was with Crabbe, Astoria was with Blaise, and I was single. Kind of like every Valentine's Day ever. But that's fine, everyone knows the best part of Valentine's Day is all the chocolate that goes on sale the day after you can use to eat your feelings with.

Meghan was also single, as was Eleanor, Draco, and Pansy. Though, Pansy was crushing on Draco. It was nice to have some friends that weren't trying to make out with everyone for a change. God, I hated February.

But we did get to go to Hogsmeade on Valentine's Day. Most couples went to Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, a cutesy little shop that was way too pink for my taste. So, naturally, Meghan, Eleanor, and I met Draco and Pansy at the Three Broomsticks for some Butterbeer and good conversation.

"So, Pansy, how is your owl?" I asked. She had told me last week that he was hurt and we hadn't seen each other since.

"Much better. I can't believe Umbridge searches the mail. She could at least be gentle with our pets. It makes me so mad."

I understood perfectly. If anyone messed with Oliver, they'd be dead within a second. "I'm sorry. But at least he's healing."

"Yeah." Pansy looked over at Meghan, "How's Quidditch going?"

She frowned. "Well, but the Gryffindors keep reserving the pitch."

"That's because their team sucks," Draco said, "I mean, we're rival teams so I'd always trash their team. But this year they really do stink."

He wasn't wrong. They lost their best beaters and Harry. Ginny was very talented, too, though so they weren't having many complications with their Seeker.

"There's no way they're winning the House Cup this year," Draco predicted, "Not after being suspended from practicing for so long. But I wish they weren't suspended that long. Now, if we win, people will say it's only because Umbridge was angry at the Gryffindors and didn't let them practice and our win will be invalid, no matter how well we play. That's all they'll remember."

Meghan nodded, setting down her cup hard. "I know, right? It doesn't matter if we're a good team or not because the Gryffindors are all going to be like, 'Umbridge rigged it so you would win'. She hates us, too. She hates everyone and everything, so it's not like she's helping us, she's just hurting them."

"That does not sound fun," Eleanor remarked. "All I know is that either Slytherin or Ravenclaw will win the cup. Gryffindor is basically missing its best players and Hufflepuff is so messy this year. Zacharias Smith keeps harassing everyone on the team and causing trouble. It seems like they're always trying to work out their differences and everyone is too nice to kick him off."

"What kind of trouble?" I asked, always wanting the tea.

"He keeps taking control of the team when he's not captain. That's a big one. And he keeps sexually harassing the female players with unwanted advances. They make him suspended all the time but it's not working."

Draco raised his eyebrows. "How did he even get into Hufflepuff?"

"He was super nice in his first year when he got sorted. Then he changed."

I frowned, sipping my Butterbeer. "I wish he would get moved. You know, someone should report him to Dumbeldore. Maybe he'll get suspended or at the minimum, stop."

"Dumbledore isn't even in charge of discipline anymore," Pansy griped, "That'd be Umbridge. You really want to willingly talk to her?"

"Oh. No, not at all. She probably wouldn't listen, anyway."

Meghan shrugged. "She likes punishing people. I think it may be worth a shot."

"I'll go with you," Eleanor volunteered, "in case you need backup."

I smiled. "Thanks, El. Yeah, I think I will report him. Life in the Hufflepuff house would be much easier. I have never met such a rude person in my life. Actually, I take it back. Umbridge is worse."

"You're right about that," Meghan laughed.

Draco stood up. "Ready to head back?"

"Yeah," Eleanor answered, also standing. We got up and headed back toward the castle.

When we returned, Eleanor and I wound up the steps to Umbridge's office. I knocked and after a few moments, my toad-faced teacher appeared with a sickening smile.

"Hello, children, how may I help you?"

Children? Seriously?

"Uh, I need to talk to you about a student," I answered.

She held the door open as we walked awkwardly inside. It shut behind us and she waddled over to her desk, sitting down with her eyes attentive. "Yes?"

"Well, there's this kid named Zacharias Smith," I told her. She scribbled down the name on a piece of paper and gestured for me to continue. "He's been very... rude, I guess you could say. He's been harassing female members of the Quidditch team."

She glanced at my tie. "And is he also a Hufflepuff?"

I nodded in confirmation.

And what exactly did Mr. Smith do?"

Eleanor piped up, filling in the blanks for me. What would I do without her? "He kept grabbing Heidi Macavory, one of the chasers, when they were walking to practice. And he kissed Tasmin Applebee, one of the beaters, and wouldn't stop when she tried to push him off."

Umbridge raised her brow. "And what were Miss Macavory and Applebee wearing?"

Eleanor hid her frustration well, saying simply, "Their Quidditch uniforms."

"And were they flirting with him or misleading him?" Umbridge asked.

"No."

She hummed in a sound like disbelief. But said, "Alright. Thank you. And your names?"

"Abby Pickard," I told her.

"Eleanor Grace."

She wrote down the names and smiled tightly. "Goodbye, children."

We left the classroom, blood pumping, and anger brewing. I turned to Eleanor, fuming. "I can't believe her. What a stuck up, inconsiderate, narcissistic bigot!"

"Well that was excessively useless," she said sarcastically.

What a bitch.

***

There was a Quidditch match on Saturday between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. The Hufflepuff team was alright. Not very united or coordinated, but alright. But we won because the Gryffindor team completely sucked with the exceptions of Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, and Ginny.

Ron physically could not play if anyone was watching, the new beaters were dumber than a box of rocks (Sloper accidentally hit Angelina in the mouth with his bat instead of the Bludger), and Kirke screamed and fell off his broom backward when Zacharias Smith was flying in his direction with the Quaffle. Needless to say, it was painful to watch.

But there was one thing that went right for the Gryffindors. Harry's interview appeared in the Quibbler, and suddenly, everyone liked him again.

Eleanor, Meghan, and I got copies from Luna right away before Umbridge banned them, sneaking them into our common rooms where she wouldn't find them. Prefects didn't report anything to anyone anymore since they had to do it to Umbridge. Everyone hated her and her stupid rules.

Eleanor and I walked through the halls on our way back to the common room when suddenly a woman screamed.

People jumped and looked toward the courtyard, beginning to run out there. Eleanor and I followed them, stopping at the edges to see Umbridge and Professor Trelawney standing in the center.

Professor Trelawney was shaking, clutching two trunks desperately.

Umbridge laughed in that stupid giggle of hers at Trelawney's misery. "You should have foreseen that this day was coming. You, due to your ineffective teaching at Hogwarts, are dismissed of your duties."

Gasps could be heard among students and whispers began. How could Umbridge do this?

"Please," she begged with tears streaming down her face, "Hogwarts is my home!"

"Hogwarts was your home," she corrected, "until the Minster signed off on an order to fire you. Now, go along, you're embarrassing yourself."

Professor McGonagall hurried over to hug Trelawney, comforting her. "There there, you won't have to leave, it's okay..."

"Oh really? On whose authority?" Umbridge challenged.

Just then, Dumbledore broke through the crowd. "That would be mine."

"Yours? I'm afraid you don't understand the power I have here, by Educational Decree Number Twenty-Three-"

"You have the ability to inspect, place upon probation, and sack any teacher you wish. I know. You have every right as High Inquisitor to remove Professor Trelawney from my teaching staff. You do not, however, have the ability to make her leave the castle. That power remains with the Headmaster, I'm afraid, and it is my wish that Professor

Trelawney remains living at Hogwarts."

"I- It's okay, Albus, I c- can go-"

"Nonsense. It is my wish that you stay. Minerva, may I ask you to escort Sybill back to her quarters?"

"Of course," she answered, helping her up from the ground and holding her arm, leading Trelawney away. Professor Sprout hurried over, taking her other arm as Professor Flitwick waved his wand, making her trunks float alongside them and following behind.

"And what do you intend to do about her lodgings when a new Divinations teacher is appointed?"

"Oh, that won't be a problem. I have already found a new Divinations teacher."

She smiled painfully. "You've found? May I remind you that under Educational Decree Number Twenty-Two, the Ministry-"

"Has the right to appoint a suitable candidate if, and only if, the headmaster is unable to find one. And I am happy to say that on this occasion I have succeeded. May I introduce you?"

Her face turned red as the clopping of hooves was heard and Firenze the centaur entered through one of the arches connecting the courtyard to the grounds.

"This is Firenze," Dumbledore said to a thunderstruck Umbridge, "I think you'll find him suitable."

***

"Abby, can I borrow a quill?" Meghan asked.

I nodded, passing her one.

Lavender Brown, who sat with us at our study table for a girls study session alongside Ginny, Luna, Eleanor, Millicent, Astoria, Pansy, Parvati, Padma, and Hermione, said, "Did you see Firenze's muscles? So hot!"

Parvati nodded quickly. "Hottest. Teacher. Ever."

"He's half-horse," Hermione reminded them.

"And, like, way older than you," I added.

Lavender shrugged. "I don't care."

"What happened to you crushing on Ron?" Ginny smirked.

Pansy sighed. "Guys, do any of you know how to do the color changing charm? My sister said it was on her O.W.L exam last year."

"I do," Eleanor volunteered, pointing her wand at me. "Colovaria Aurantiaco!"

My sweater changed from light gray to orange. "Eleanor!"

She laughed. "Colovaria Griseo!"

It changed back.

Pansy gasped. "Whoa, you're really good at that. How do you do it?"

"Well, first you have to know the Latin words for all of the colors. Here, I wrote it in my notebook..."

I stopped listening after that. "Hey, Millicent, what are you doing?"

She sighed. "Trying to finish this worksheet on self-fertilizing shrubs for Herbology, but I have no clue what any of the answers are."

"What's the first question?" Meghan asked.

"How many of these shrubs can be placed side by side safely?"

"No more than three."

"What do self-fertilizing shrubs eat?"

"Human flesh."

I looked up from my DADA homework. "Wait, what?"

"Yeah, you'll get to see some in Herbology tomorrow. They're so cool!"

Luna and Eleanor were hunched over a copy of the Daily Prophet, a little too close for my liking. Though, I didn't know why it bothered me.

"Eleanor?"

She looked over. "Yeah?"

"What's so interesting?"

"Just the articles from the Ministry. They're trying so hard to cover-up the return of You-Know-Who."

"Don't worry," Luna assured us, "The Quibbler will still run that interview with Harry. The truth will be out there."

That wasn't very reassuring, but I said, "Thanks, Luna."

"Oh, hey, look at the time!" Ginny exclaimed.

I did, glancing at the clock over the library's biggest fireplace. It was time for the DA's meeting. "Yeah, I should get going."

"I'll come with!" Meghan chipped.

"Me too," Eleanor joined.

Luna and Hermione got up, packing up their things quickly.

"Where's the fire?" Pansy joked. 

We laughed, hurrying away to leave the Patil sisters and Slytherins alone. Our trip to the seventh floor didn't take that long, luckily.

"It's a shame Cho was too sick to join the study session," sighed Meghan. "Maybe she'll come to the meeting."

"I doubt it. From what Marietta Edgecomb told me, she was really, really sick."

We turned around the corner to reach the tapestry and begin walking back and forth. The door appeared when we finished and Luna opened it, wandering inside and looking around as if she had never been there before.

Upon our entrance, we saw the students practicing the Patronus charm. We'd been working on them since the break ended and some still weren't succeeding (cough, Lavender and Neville, cough). I drew my wand and cast the spell, watching the sparrow fly up in the rafters, circling beams and pillars.

"Alright, everyone," Harry called. "Today, we're fighting boggarts."

The students cheered and it took a while for Harry to quiet them down. Boggarts- that sounded like a good lesson.

Across the room was a locked chest. It rattled as people pushed into a line, elbows moving to get further to the front.

"Remember, the spell is Riddikulus. Think of something that makes you laugh."

Students when one by one as the boggart transformed into cockroaches, stages, giant needles, spiders, snakes, clowns, and puddles of blood. The highlights were student debt, zombies, Mike's mother-in-law, ducks, NSYNC, lemon Starbursts, and a dentist.

After Neville finished turning a boggart of Snape into his grandmother's clothes, Meghan stepped up. Snape looked at her and his figure swirled until he became Chucky- more specifically, Chucky from the sixth movie, Curse of Chucky.

"Riddikulus!" She shouted and glitter fell from the ceiling in mass quantities, burying the boggart.

It was my turn as the boggart freed itself. The glitter disappeared and it smiled, whirling and changing until I stood, looking back at a striking being. A handsome being, one with intelligent eyes, eyes that you could look into and you just knew that he was so much smarter than you. He could manipulate you and you would never know, he would get what he wanted.

Lucifer's lips curled into a smile as the room lit on fire. "Hello, darling."

My feet wouldn't move and as the fire burned hotter, beginning to open blisters on my legs. It was hell. I was in hell, and there was no escape.

Then a scream was heard from behind me.

"Riddikulus!"

The scene vanished, showing nothing but a bunny chewing on a carrot. The room repaired itself, thanks to the strong magic it possessed, and my feet could move again.

Eleanor rang over to me, steadying me on my blistered legs and helping me into a chair. She knelt in front of me, eyes wide with concern. "Oh god, those are at least second-degree burns!"

Hermione broke away from the crowd, going over. "I don't know if healing spells will work since the fire came from a boggart... I'm not sure if that counts as magical fire or not."

She looked over my legs. "I think we have to clean the wounds first. Tergeo!"

The ash came off my legs and she sighed. "I don't have any burn healing paste and we can't exactly go to Madam Pomfrey. It'll raise questions. I can do a Mending charm, but it'll leave scars."

"How bad?" I asked, trying not to cry from pain.

"Serious."

"It'll be fine, it'll heal naturally," I said.

Eleanor shook her head. "No, what if they get infected? We need to get that paste."

"How?" asked Cho, "You can't tell Madam Pomfrey and we're not supposed to use any fire spells because of Umbridge, so an excuse wouldn't work either."

"I'll steal it."

I gasped. "Eleanor, no, what if you get caught?"

"I'll be fine."

"Hermione, just use the charm."

Hermione looked wary. "I don't know, Abby, this could leave some serious-"

"Could leave. Not will leave."

She sighed. "Yeah, but-"

"'Mione, please," I pleaded, "Please!"

Hermione looked at my desperate expression, down at the burns, at Eleanor, at Harry, and finally back on me. "Yeah, okay. Reparo!"

I flinched in pain as the wounds healed. But in their place were pink lines. They traced my skin, mostly in lines and in various directions. Not all of the burns left scars, though. For that I was thankful.

Hermione sighed. "I'm sorry, I-"

"It's okay, thank you."

I stood, which Eleanor was worried about, but I was fine. I told the class to continue the lesson, so they did.

After boggarts, we practiced our Patronuses some more. That was one thing I could do. My sparrow, Meghan's dapple-gray stallion, and Eleanor's koala ran around the room. Other Patronuses were present too, such as Harry's stag, Cho's swan, Ron's Russell-terrier, Luna's hare, Hermione's otter, and Ginny's mare.

The door open and shut, which no one thought much of until we heard Dobby yelling for Harry frantically. We turned and watched as Harry went to him, kneeling to make them equal.

"Dobby, what is it?"

"She's coming!" 

"What? Who?"

"The High Inquisitor!"

My heart just stopped. Oh, shit, that was today?

Harry looked at our frantic faces, shouting, "RUN!"

We dashed for the doors, scattering into the hallways, sprinting down corridors. Eleanor and I didn't stop running until we were in the Hufflepuff common room, panting and breathless.

She looked at me fearfully. "Did she see us?"

"I don't think so."

"Oh my god... that was way too close..." 

***

The next day, word spread that Dumbeldore ran from arrest from the Ministry. Cho Chang was revealed to be the snitch, which didn't sit well with the members of the DA.

But the worst news was that Umbridge was Headmaster. The student body was, of course, furious. That is, aside from the Inquisitorial Squad.

"I can't believe you're working for her now!" I said to Draco as we wound through corridors toward the Astronomy tower.

"Look, she's in charge, I just want to stay on her good side. Think of it this way- you've got a friend in her circle. You're safe."

"Think of it this way- you're her bitch."

He sighed. "I know you don't like her. I don't like her either. I'm just trying to be safe from her. This is the best option."

Okay, that was a fair point. "Yeah, whatever. It's fine."

"Abby, please-"

"I said it's fine, didn't I?"

"But it's not fine. You have a good point, you really do. But this is safer for me. And you, too. If you get into trouble with Umbridge I can get you out of it."  
"Yeah, you're right. Sorry, I just hate her so much."

"Well, that makes two of us."

We reached the tower and climbed the winding steps up, emerging at the top. The sky was clear and starry, telescopes were lined up, and Professor Sinistra was passing out papers.

She handed us our copies, saying loudly to the whole class, "Partners of two, find a telescope! Share nicely- hey! Hey, you cut that out!" and ran over to stop some kids daring each other to walk on the ledge of the tower.

"Partners?" I offered.

Draco nodded, smiling. "Yeah, of course."

We got a telescope and I looked over our worksheet. "Okay, we have to plot the moons of Jupiter, answer some questions, identify some constellations, and draw a diagram of the rings of Saturn. That's not too bad."

"Easy for you to say."

I rolled my eyes playfully. "Alright, I'll tell you where to plot the moons and you can write it down. Then we can check each other's work and move onto the next section."

"Efficient."

It was a bit cool that night, but it was spring, so not miserably so. 

I gazed into the telescope, peering up at the clear image. Magical telescopes were way more functional than muggle ones. "Okay, Io is closest. Leave barely any room to make it kind of to scale."

Draco nodded as he wrote it down. "Got it."

"Then Europa. It looks almost in line with Io, but it's a tiny bit further back and a bit smaller."

"Check."

"Then Ganymede. It's significantly further than the others but still not far. It's the biggest one."

"How do you spell that?" He asked sheepishly. 

I didn't look up from the telescope. "G-a-n-y-m-e-d-e."

"Thank you."

"No problem. Okay, now Callisto. Two Ls. It's bigger than Io, but not as big as Ganymede."

Draco nodded, fishing with the major moons. We finished the smaller ones, too, before switching places. I had to make some small corrections to his plot points to make the orbits and their distance and timing correct, but he did well.

He volunteered to answer the questions, saying he was good at that. He was right. His mind retained facts well; he wrote down mass measurements and recalled weather patterns like a pro.

The rings of Saturn weren't that hard for him, either. The only thing he struggled with were constellations. Luckily, that was my favorite part.

Draco pointed to one of the constellations on the worksheet. "What's that one?"

I looked over. "Ursa Major."

He groaned. "I can never remember them."

"Maybe you'd remember better if you knew the myths."

"The myths?"

"Yeah, the stories behind the constellations. Well, mythical stories. That's how I remember and it's my favorite part of Astronomy."

He shrugged. "Yeah, maybe. What's the story of, I don't know, Bootes?"

I smiled up at the sky, pointing to the constellation that held the third brightest star in the sky that we could see. It is said to depict the son of the Greek god Zeus, king of the gods. The son's name was Arcas and his mother was Callisto."

"Wait, that moon is called Callisto, isn't it?"

"Yeah. When the Romans overthrew the Greeks, they basically took their religion, changed the gods' names, and made it their own. They changed Zeus' to Jupiter. So, Jupiter's moons are named after his lovers."

"That's actually really clever," Draco remarked.

"I know, right? Anyway, so the king of Arcadia (Arcas' grandfather on his mom's side) was the one that raised Arcas because Zeus was always doing god stuff and Callisto was doing Zeus so you don't exactly tell Zeus' girlfriend to work unless you want to face both of their wraths."

Draco winced. "Yikes."

"So anyway, the Arcadian king didn't like his responsibility, Arcas, Zeus, or just most things in general. He was a kind of a jerk. So he murdered Arcas and cooked him into food. Then, he invited Zeus to dinner and decided to test him and see if he would notice he was eating his son."

"That's disgusting. Say what you will about me, I have never cooked and fed someone to their parents."

"Well, I should hope not. Okay, so Zeus noticed and was mad. He turned the king into a wolf and murdered all of his songs with thunderbolts before bringing Arcas back to life. But Zeus' wife, Hera, found out about all this and was angry at him for cheating on her for the thousandth time, so she turned Callisto into a bear. She roamed the woods for years doing bear stuff until Arcas found her. He was now grown up and a hunter, which was bad because he didn't know it was her. He chased her until she ran into a temple. Ancient Greek rules were that if you kill anything inside a temple, you'd be put to death and the gods would probably hate you, which could go really wrong. But Zeus saved the day and avoided tragedy by turning them both into constellations and putting them side by side in the sky. Arcas became Bootes and Callisto became Ursa Major."

Draco looked very interested. "That's actually really cool. How did you know that?"

I was super into Percy Jackson and it all took off from there until I annotated the Iliad and read the mythology for fun. "I just do."

Professor Sinistra called us to attention, collected our papers, and dismissed us. Draco and I waved goodbye when the hallway broke off into two different directions. He went to the Slytherin dorms and I went to the Hufflepuff ones, being extra quiet so I didn't wake up Eleanor.

I still had ancient runes homework and I had basically no time on Wednesdays. DA meetings weren't going on anymore, but I still had music after school and Astronomy at midnight.

"Lumos," I murmured, alighting my wand just enough to show my homework as I wrote.

One of my other dorm mates, Beth, was still awake, using a light charm to read from her bed across from mine against the opposite wall. She looked up sympathetically.

"Homework?"

I nodded. "Ancient Runes."

"Oh, I finished that. Want to use mine?"

"Yes, thank you so much!"

Beth reached into her bag at the side of her bed, pulling out the sheet. I got up and took it from her, returning to my bed to write in the answers.

Eleanor rolled over and sat up sleepily, yawning and running a hand through her shoulder-length caramel hair. She looked over at me. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just have homework."

"Oh, okay. Want help?"

"No, you need to sleep. Go back to bed."

Across the room in the bed next to Beth and cross from Eleanor was Paige. Groaned and said, "Guys, go to bed!"

"Sorry," Beth apologized.

The final pressed against the back wall across from the door and between our two windows was Caroline. She put her pillow over her head.

I finished writing in the answers and gave Beth back her paper, thanking her before changing into pajamas and getting into bed.

"Nox," I whispered to extinguish the light on my wand. The room went dark and I put my glasses on my nightstand before shutting my eyes and going to sleep. It had been a long day.

***

"I'm so going to fail, I'm so going to fail..." Eleanor repeated to herself over and over as she drew her Iguana diagram for Defense Against the Dark Arts.

O.W.Ls were coming up sooner than we had thought and Eleanor was very stressed. I didn't mind as much since I knew what was going to be on the test from reading the book, but everyone else was giving me secondhand-stress.

"You're going to be fine," I assured her.

"I don't remember where the dorsal aorta is," she whimpered.

"It's right over the Oesophagus."

"I don't remember where that is either."

Yeah, okay, maybe she did have reason to be stressed. But I personally was much more concerned about my Potions test. Draco and I had spent tireless hours working in the Slytherin common room (where, technically, I wasn't supposed to be, but the other Slytherins seemed to like me and didn't report it) on various potions. We brewed and brewed and brewed but when it came time for me to do it on my own, something always went wrong.

Draco was starting to remember the constellations thanks to me and my amazing storytelling skills, but he really struggled with remembering the minor moons of Jupiter. I tried everything to help him- writing, acronyms, repetition, even some stupid songs. At this point, he may be screwed.

The only class everyone was going to do fine in was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Besides the very threatening iguana, we only learned about vampire bats, conflict avoidance, and fleeing. All very riveting topics, I assure you.

Eleanor frowned, looking up to watch the plants that hung from the ceiling's leaves flutter. Two of the round windows were open, bringing in a spring breeze to the common room.

"Abby, you'll come back next year, right?"

I paused. "I hope so. Unless my family moves, yeah."

"You better come back. As much as I love Beth, Paige, and Caroline, I'll be really lonely if you don't."

"I will."

"Promise?"

I don't know, Eleanor. "Promise."

***

I shuffled into the great hall alongside all of the other fifth-years and into a singular desk. Rows upon rows were in there, prepared to host seventy students for O.W.L exams. The first week of O.W.L testing had begun.

I slid into a desk alongside Meghan and Eleanor. Meghan greeted me with a smile, looking relaxed, but Eleanor was tapping her foot and had the end of her quill between her teeth as she scanned her notes one last time.

Draco waved from across the hall and I returned the gesture. He was with Millicent, Pansy, Astoria, Blaise, Crabbe, and Goyle. He said something to get their attention and they looked over, smiling and waving as Draco had. Once again, I waved back at my friends. Since the game against Gryffindor, I had become much better friends with them all.

The books made them seem a lot meaner than they actually were.

Hermione was with Harry and Ron. She walked past my desk but didn't even notice. She was way too busy reciting every Charms spell she had ever learned. Definitely overkill.

Luna slid into a seat in front of me. She turned around with that floaty smile of hers. "Are you ready for the test?"

I shrugged. "Ready as I'll ever be."

She looked over at Eleanor. "Is she okay?"

"No."

"Oh. Meghan, I forgot a quill, mind if I borrow one?" she asked sweetly.

Meghan handed her a spare quill. "Yeah, of course."

Professor Flitwick clapped to grab everyone's attention. "Hello, students. Today you will be taking your Ordinary Wizarding Level Charms Assessment Part One- Theory. This is a written test and must be completed within the hour. No Auto-Answer quills, Remembralls, Detachable Cribbing Cuffs, or Self-Correcting ink are permitted. Good luck, and begin!"

With a wave of his wand, our tests appeared on our desks.

Question One: When was the levitation charm invented?

Crap. Sometime in the 14th century. But when? Was it 1544 or 1554? I guessed and wrote down 1544.

Question Two: What spell is the counterspell for magically induced hiccups?

I didn't even know you could magically induce hiccups. 

Question Three: What is the effect of a cheering charm?

To create joy in the person that the spell is cast on. That one I knew.

Meghan turned the page on her test and wrote in the next answer. There were still seven more questions on the front. How was she going so fast? Maybe I'm just really dumb. I probably should have studied more.

When the hour ended and our tests were collected, I immediately turned to Meghan. "Meghan! What was number 24?"

"A growth charm. What'd you get for 32?"

"Merlin."

"Yeah, I think that's right. I put that, too."

Professor Flitwick left and we were released from classes for the day. I spent most of it cramming information in. Eleanor quizzed me and Meghan read over her notes until the very second Professor McGonagall called for attention the next day and the Transfiguration tests were distributed.

Question One: Provide the definition of a switching spell.

A transfiguration spell used to switch the position of two objects.

Question Two: True or false- when objects vanish, they are transported to a separate realm.

False. They blink out of existence. Maybe I won't fail my O.W.Ls after all.

Throughout the rest of the week, we took the written exams for Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Astronomy, and History of Magic. I was sure I passed them all, even though the Potions test was hard. Draco was feeling confident as well and said after the Astronomy test that he was pretty sure he got an A at the least.

Everyone took their O.W.Ls in their electives, too, and I'm certain I passed with flying colors. Care of Magical Creatures was one of my best classes and so I was easily able to determine foods to feed a sick unicorn and describe a Thestral.

The hardest one was Ancient Runes, but thanks to cram studying with Hermione, I got through it.

The second week was full of practical exams for each of my classes. There were only three spells in Charms- a levitating, color-changing, and growth charm.

The only thing we had to do for Transfiguration was a vanishing spell, which used to be hard, but I had mastered it since making the globe in Ravenclaw tower disappear. 

Herbology was a bit finicky and I got nipped by a Fanged Geranium, but mostly okay. Meghan and Neville did fantastically. They definitely got Os.

As for Defense Against the Dark Arts, thank god for the DA or I never would have passed. I was required to cast many spells from Harry's lessons that most students couldn't perform because they had not practiced. It was satisfying to cast a Patronus for extra credit in front of Umbridge and watch her face go red.

Ancient Runes was only reciting the names and pronouncing the various runes, but I always had a knack for foreign languages, which apparently extended to Ancient Greek and Scandinavian.

Potions was where it got rough. I had to drink some of that calming potion Draco and I made before going in or I might have thrown up. It's not like I didn't have plenty considering that Draco and I spent hours brewing the same potions, including that one, over and over and over again. In fact, I lent some out to tons of my friends before tests. That was the only way we got through our worst subjects.

Thankfully, Care of Magical Creatures was one of my best classes so I easily demonstrated how to hold a Bowtruckle, identified a Knarl from hedgehogs, and fed and cleaned a Fire Crab without a single burn.

Poor Draco was so stressed after his Astronomy test. We had to look through the telescope and fill in a blank star chart. But on the bright side, he got all of the constellations. I let him have some calming potion, too.

He said that his Divination test sucked- full of Crystal-Ball, palm, and tea leaves reading. 

Meghan loved her Arithmancy test, which she tried to explain to me, but it all went over my head. Last year, I got a C on my Geometry final, so...

Muggle Studies was the easiest one by far; the hardest part was operating a microwave, which was only a tad bit challenging since it was a 1996 microwave. Unless you counted History of Magic, which had no practical exam.

All in all, it was stressful, but when it was over, Eleanor and I pigged out on cheesecake in the kitchens. Being a Hufflepuff and right next to the kitchen had its perks. Especially since the house-elves loved us and were always happy to give us snacks even when we weren't really allowed to be there.

***

I never liked my school guidance counselor. She didn't exactly provide any 'guidance,' it was more like she told me what I couldn't do. I couldn't take this class, I couldn't go to that college, blah, blah, blah. Well jokes on her because I did take that class and I got an A. Take that Ms. Howard.

Plus, she never responded to my emails, was too busy to let me report a terrible case of bullying, and her office smelled like Shepherd's Pie because it was all she ever ate.

I assumed that guidance counseling at Hogwarts would be more interesting. Everything was; I even enjoy Potions despite not being good at it. Just sleeping at Hogwarts was cooler than in my bed at home.

But some things never change, apparently. Fifth-year students were all having counseling sessions to schedule classes for N.E.W.T testing with their heads of house and no one wanted to go. Well, except Hermione.

Now, Professor Sprout is great. I love her, everyone does. But there's not exactly any way to spice up scheduling for sixth-year classes.

Professor Sprout's office smelled much better than Ms. Howard's, though.

"Now, you have your core classes, of course," she told me, scanning a paper, "Charms, Transfiguration, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Advanced Potions and Herbology are optional now. And you can choose to take Advanced Astronomy, Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination, Muggle Studies, Alchemy, and Ancient Runes. You can have up to five electives, but no less than three."

I hesitated. "Uh, I'd like to take Advanced Astronomy and Care of Magical Creatures for sure."

Professor Sprout nodded and wrote that down. "Herbology?"

"I don't know, I'm not very good at it."

"Rubbish!"

"Oh. Well, I still don't feel like it's a good fit. I'll take Alchemy. That's new. Also, I like Ancient Runes, taking that again would be nice. And Care of Magical Creatures. The curriculum will be different as a sixth-year, right?"

"Oh yes, yes. I hear Hagrid will be bringing in Glumbumbles!"

I had no idea what a Glumbumble was, but I nodded and smiled, acting like I wasn't as stupid as I really was. "Cool."

Draco was taking Advanced Potions, and I wanted to take a class with him, but I really sucked at Potions. I liked it, but I wasn't good at it.

"I'll do Advanced Potions."

"You can only take that if you get an A, E, or O on your O.W.L. What did you get?" she asked as she shuffled the papers in my file. "Ah, an A. Congratulations, Miss Pickard."

"Thanks."

"Alrighty, then, you can also take some extra-curricular activities. Art, Ghoul Studies, Magical Theory, Muggle Art, Muggle Music, Music, Frog Choir, Xylomancy... any of these strike your fancy?"

What the hell was Xylomancy? "No, thank you."

"Are you sure? Professor Flitwick says you're an exceptional addition to the music department."

Oh, stop it. "Alright, I guess."

"Great!" She exclaimed, writing it down. "Oh, I almost forgot, Apparition! For 12 Galleons, you can take Apparition. I know, it's odd to pay for schooling, but we hire experts on the field to avoid splinching."

Not at all odd. In fact, I was probably going to go homeless someday due to student debt. "Yeah, okay." I phished out the money from my pocket, which I happened to have on hand.

"Oh, you have it now! Thank you!" She cheered as she took it and put it in an envelope, signing a slip and adding it to my file before shutting it. "Lovely seeing you, dear, have a great day!

I waved, stepping out of her office and heading down the hall. I had to get to Potions before I was late.

***

The next day, Ancient Runes was normal until there was a loud explosion sound outside. The students exchanged looks. Then there were rapid bursts of explosions. My natural instinct was to duck under my desk to hide from a school shooter, but that couldn't be right because there were no school shooters at Hogwarts. At least, not in the books.

Students ran over to the door and peered out, gasping.

"What is it?" asked a Slytherin.

"Fireworks!" A Gryffindor exclaimed.

We all ran out of the classroom to see fireworks, smoke bombs, sparklers, and giant flaming animals flying around the castle, storming down halls and creating a huge ruckus.

Professor Umbridge was frantically trying to vanish them, but each time she did, they multiplied tenfold. Her decrees that hung on the walls outside the great hall exploded and soon she was covered in soot and smoke, coughing like a chihuahua and screaming.

On their brooms, the Weasley twins rode off, waving goodbye to a cheering crowd.

"Whoa..." Ginny marveled.

"Your brothers are so cool."

"I wouldn't say that. But this was."

Umbridge and Filch had brooms, trying to snuff out fireworks, screaming, "STOP IT, STOP IT, STOP IT!" 

Even the teachers laughed and didn't help. Professor McGonagall insisted that she wasn't sure if she had the authority to put them out, making Umbridge do all the work. Not a bad day, all in all.

A half-hour later, I sat in the library with the other members of the DA at five separate tables. We'd become friends and stuck together even after the club was disbanded. It was also so that we could swap ideas about Dumbledore's whereabouts. But no one actually knew.

The only one that wasn't there was Cho Chang. Most of us weren't on speaking terms with her after she snitched.

Lucky me, I had more Ancient Runes homework. In case you couldn't tell, that was sarcasm. It was so stupid that we still had to do work after our O.W.Ls, so mostly, I put no effort into it.

"Hermione," I whined.

"Yeah?"

"Is that right?"

I pushed my paper over to her and she scanned it. "No. You mistranslated Ewhaz. It means 'partnership,' not 'defense.' You mixed it up with Eihwaz. It's okay, I do that sometimes, too."

"Oh, yeah. Thank you!"

I was listening to some Gryffindors talk about their most recent Quidditch win when the doors to the library flew open with a bang, startling us. In came the Inquisitorial Squad with Draco, Pansy, Millicent, Crabbe, Goyle, and some others. Pansy pulled a sheet of paper out of her pocket.

Aloud, she read off the first name. "Harry Potter."

The Squad headed toward the tables and one of the larger boys grabbed Harry out of his seat. He swiped Harry's wand and shoved it in his pocket.

Hermione jumped up. "What's going on here?"

"Umbridge has sent us to round up Dumbledore's Army," Millicent told her.

"Hermione Granger," read Pansy.

Millicent took her arm with an apologetic look and led her over by Harry. She confiscated Hermione's wand and put it in an inner pocket of her robes. Everyone in the library looked concerned and confused, talking quietly as they observed the scene.

Pansy looked at the list again. "Ron Weasley."

A girl seized Ron roughly and pulled him away from his table. He stumbled and shouted, "Bloody hell!"

I leaned over to Meghan, hissing, "Should we run?"

"Too dangerous" she whispered, "I'd rather they just take us than shoot us down with some spell while we run."

Pansy announced the next name, "Alicia Spinnet," and took her over by the group they selected. "Angelina Johnson and Dean Thomas."

Dean thrashed when Goyle removed him and Angelina from the table but was subdued when the Squad pointed their wands at him.

"Colin and Dennis Creevey."

The brothers meekly went over without having to be taken. Pansy scanned the list, reading, "Fred and George Weasley."

"They left earlier on their brooms," Millicent reminded her.

"Katie Bell, Lavander Brown, and Ginny Weasley."

I tried to grab Ginny's hand, but she was pulled away by one of the smaller girls with an angry look in her eyes.

"Lee Jordan, Neville Longbottom, and Parvati Patil."

"I'll scream," Parvati threatened.

One of the boys smirked. "Go ahead. We're under Umbridge's orders. No one's going to help you."

"Seamus Finnigan, Anthony Goldstein, and Cho Chang."

"Cho's off the hook," Millicent said, "for telling Professor Umbridge."

"Luna Lovegood, Marietta Edgecombe, and Micheal Corner."

Marietta, too, for also snitching," Millicent supplied.

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Yes, I know, Millicent. I'm just reading the list. Padma Patil, Terry Boot, and Meghan Pickard."

Meghan and I made fearful eye contact as she had her wand taken and was escorted to the group as if lined up for execution.

"Ernie Macmillian, Hannah Abbott, and Justin Flinch-Fletchley."

My fellow Hufflpuffs were taken away and there only sat me and two other members of the DA. My name was coming.

"Susan Bones."

Draco led her away.

"Zacharias Smith."

He cursed as Goyle had to drag him over to the captives.

"A-" Pansy stopped, looking up at me with wide eyes. She didn't say anything.

"Who?" Draco asked.

She didn't reply.

"Pansy?"

No answer.

"Pansy!"

"Abigail Pickard."

He froze. Then he slowly looked over at me. His eyes pleaded with me to get up from my seat. I knew the last thing he wanted to do was drag me to Umbridge. But I didn't know what to do.

Everyone watched as we stared at each other because it was fairly obvious we had feelings for each other and this was way more dramatic than any TV show.

Draco took a step forward, then another. I stood up and he stopped, hoping I'd come with him, but I didn't move. He took another step. I took one back. We stopped again.

"Abby..." he said gently, "Please. I don't want to force you anywhere."

"Good. I don't want to be forced anywhere."

"Abby-"

"I told you joining the Squad was a bad idea. Now we're on opposite sides and we're stuck in this position."

He sighed. "Yeah, you were right. Just..." he stepped forward.

I took two steps back. One forward, two back. Two forward, three back. It was like a game of cat and mouse.

One of the Squad members I didn't know called, "Draco, just use your wand!"

That's when I noticed that my wand was still on the desk beside Draco. Shit.

He followed my gaze before drifting his eyes back to mine. The situation suddenly got even more imbalanced.

Draco took another step forward but still didn't draw his wand. This time, I didn't step back. The last thing I wanted to do was make a run for it and have that other guy stun me. Draco wouldn't hurt me like that, but the others were less predictable. It was safer just to go with someone I knew and who cared about me.

He took my wand off the table and put it in his pocket, advancing slowly, not making any sudden moves. Something about it felt like I was an animal getting cornered and he didn't want to make me run. Technically, it was more similar to that situation than I cared to think about.

He extended his hands, holding them where I could see as he came closer to make me feel safer. It worked and I let him approach and finally reach out a hand, stopping to let me come to him. Slowly, I took it. The moment we had each other in our grips, we each released a breath we didn't know we had been holding.

"That's it," Pansy said, cutting the silence.

"Let's get going!" Crowed one of the members and the other students were pushed roughly out of the library. Poor Neville was being pulled by one of his large ears.

Draco just held my hand lightly and we walked down the hallway. If I wanted to make a break for it, I could. I had a feeling that was intentional. Draco was making sure I knew I was still in control of myself, not him.

We went down halls and climbed the stairs. With each step, I could feel my fear building. This didn't happen exactly like this in the books. Meghan and I's presence had changed the story.

I had no idea what was going to happen to me.

When we got to the sixth floor, the same floor as Umbridge's office, I felt my breathing speed up.

"Draco, what if she makes me use that pen?" I said quietly.

He frowned. "What pen?"

"She- She has this magic quill that when you write it cuts into the back of your hand and uses your blood to write. Then it heals and cuts again and again and again until it won't heal anymore and it just keeps going deeper and-"

"Whoa, slow down, take a deep breath," he said, stopping. "What quill? She's doing what?"

My palms started to glisten with sweat and I felt lightheaded. My grip on his hand tightened. "Draco, what if I have to do it? It'll hurt so bad and it'll leave scars and I already have scars and it'll look ugly and I'll be all alone in her office, trapped with her and-"

"Abby," he took hold of my shoulders, stopping, "you need to calm down. Here, focus on me. It's going to be okay."

We were in the back of the procession, so the others didn't notice that we stopped and kept moving.

My stomach churned. Draco took my hands, which were starting to shake uncontrollably. Pain spread through my chest as fear raced through my body. "She's so evil, Draco, and if she wants to hurt me no one can stop her! She- not even Dumbledore or the other teachers and the Ministry thinks it's fine! She hates all the students and she hits them! She'll-"

My legs began to shake and Draco helped me sit down. It felt like the room was swaying and everything around me was so distant.

"Abby, hey, look at me. You're having a panic attack, okay? You need to try to even your breathing."

I tried to do as he said but it wasn't working. Everything was so overwhelming at that moment.

"Draco, she'll hurt me, she'll-"

"No, she won't. Listen to me." His hands slid down my arms and seized my hands again, gripping them tight.

His words felt distant and I could barely hear what he was saying. "I don't want to!"

"I know. I know. But you're not going to get hurt. I've got you."

My breathing began to slow back down and I could focus on him again. His eyes were swimming with concern as they flickered between mine.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, no," he assured me, brushing back a lock of hair that had fallen into my face, "it's all okay. If you want to go, go now. I'll say you got away."

"You'll get in so much trouble."

"It's okay."

I shook my head, swallowing my fear. No way was I going to give Umbridge an excuse to hurt Draco. "I'll go."

"Abby-"

"I'm going." I stood, walking toward the classroom. Draco ran behind me. We hurried to catch up and entered her office just as the door was about to shut. Talk about a quick recovery.

We went over to where the rest of the DA was being lined up, the Squad's wands pointed at them. I was next to Eleanor, who looked sick.

"You okay?" I whispered.

"I'm fine."

Umbridge cackled. "I've got you all! Now, you're going to tell me exactly where Dumbeldore is."

"We don't know!" Harry told her.

"Now, I know that's not true, Mr. Potter. Come on, children, there's no reason to have any issues here. Just tell me where he is and you can go."

"Harry is telling the truth," Hermione stated.

Umbridge walked up to her with that ugly smile and slapped her across the face. I flinched, along with the rest of the DA and multiple people gasped. Hermione, however, just glared back at her.

"Come on, someone spit it out!" Umbridge raged. No one answered. "Fine."

With a wave of her wand, we were all thrown back into a line of chairs behind us. Ropes slithered around our ankles and wrists, securing us as she stalked around us.

"One last chance. Where is Dumbledore?"

No one told her.

"You leave me no choice. Crucio!"

All of us were hit with the Unforgivable curse. I had never known pain like that. I screamed at the top of my lungs and so did the others.

"Stop!" Draco shouted.

The curse lifted and I caught my breath, tears leaking from my eyes.

"Is there a problem, Mr. Malfoy?"

"That curse is illegal."

"Well, what the Minister doesn't know won't hurt him." Her hand reached to his picture on her desk and tipped it over so that it fell face down.

Draco looked furious. "I can't let you do that."

"Mr. Malfoy, you're on dangerous ground. If I were you-"

"STUPEFY!"

Umbridge fell back, hit with the spell. The members of the Squad I didn't know drew their wands to point them at Draco but Pansy, Millicent, Crabbe, and Goyle pulled theirs out and stood beside him.

That made them even matches until Pansy pointed her wand at the DA members and shouted, "Relashio!"

She tossed back the wands she had collected and the others on her side copied her actions. Soon, the other Squad members were vastly outnumbered.

Umbridge staggered to her feet, sneering, "You stupid, stupid boy! I'll-"

"Perfectus Totalus," I said, pointing my wand at her and watching in joy as she became paralyzed.

Harry immediately turned to the DA. "I have to go."

"Harry, you can't go alone," Hermione insisted, grabbing his arm.

"Sirius is in trouble. I can't leave him there."

"Then we're coming with you," Luna stated.

He shook his head. "It's too dangerous."

"We've been studying for a reason, Harry. What's too dangerous is you going into that alone. You could be killed," said Ron desperately.

Harry sighed. "Fine."

"Count us in, too," Pansy volunteered.

The ex-Inquisitorial Squad members nodded.

"So where are we going?" Eleanor asked.

"The Ministry. But I have no idea how. Floo is down, you can't apparate, brooms are too dangerous to infiltrate with..."

"What about Thestrals?" Luna suggested.

"Actually, that's not a bad idea."

***

Riding on an invisible horse is not fun. When you're reading about it and it's all in theory, sure, it sounds like a rollercoaster. But when you're actually doing it... well, imagine hurtling down the rollercoaster with nothing visible below to catch you, no safety rails, and no assurance that you won't be thrown from said invisible car into the air and to your death. That's what riding a Thestral is like.

At last, we landed on the pavement outside the Ministry's visitor center. We rushed inside, winding down halls toward the Department of Mysteries.

Harry stopped. "Guys, please, I don't want any of you getting hurt because of me."

"Harry, shut up," Ginny scowled, "We're plenty capable. Not another word about it."

Harry backed down. No one wanted to mess with Ginny.

As we darted into the Department of Mysteries, the walls rotated to confuse us about which door we entered through. That was very reassuring, especially with the new, uncertain plotline.

"Meghan!" I hissed. "Meghan!"

"What?"

"You do realize how bad this is, right?"

She shrugged. "I mean..."

"One of the most important plot points changed."

"What do you mean?"

"Umbridge never called Snape for Vertiserum so Harry never gave him the secret message. The Order isn't coming to save us!"

She blinked, eyes wide. "Oh shit."

"Ew, are those brains?" Eleanor squealed, backing away from a door across the room. Harry had opened one to reveal brains floating in colored, bubbly liquid.

Hermione looked sick to her stomach. "I think so."

I shook my head. "Government, man. I'm telling you." 

Luna opened up another door. In it was the iconic stone archway with the billowing veil. Meghan stepped back a bit and so did I.

"What's that?" Neville asked.

"I don't know," Luna whispered back, "but the voices are calling me from inside."

"Me too," Harry muttered, stepping closer as if drawn in by a magnetic force. He approached the veil, green eyes reflecting the softly glowing light surrounding the tattered fabric.

Hermione grabbed his arm. "Harry, we're here for Sirius."

Harry nodded, moving away and shutting the door. I jiggled the knob on another but it was locked.

"This one's locked," I announced.

Pulling out a knife and slipping it in, Harry said, "I can open it."

The knife, however, melted into the lock and he jumped back.

"Right, well, we're leaving that room alone," Hermione determined. "Try that one, Meghan."

Meghan opened the next door to reveal a long corridor lined with dark bricks and gray tiles. She looked over at Harry. "This one?"

"That one," he confirmed, walking down it. The rest of us exchanged looks and followed him into another room. Shelves stretched to the ceiling with glass orbs as Harry ran through aisles to find what he wanted.

"What are you looking for?" Luna called.

"97!"

We looked at the plaques on the walls and shelves to find the number he was looking for but he found it first. There was no sign of a struggle or of Sirius. All there was was the orb that Harry was destined for. Slowly, he picked it up off the shelf. We stood behind him, watching and waiting for something to happen.

The only ones not shocked when a voice from the darkness said, "Very good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me," were Meghan and I. Although, I have to admit, I did jump, still.

A figure stepped out of the shadows: Lucius Malfoy. My least favorite character. He extended a hand for Harry to give him the Prophecy, but Harry didn't move.

My peers and I whipped out our wands, but we were circled by Death Eaters. I pressed close to Meghan and Eleanor, who were at my sides. Draco, behind me, took in a sharp breath.

I pointed my wand back at Draco and muttered a quick, "Colovaria purpura!"

His hair color changed from platinum blond to purple, doing more to disguise him than I had thought it would. He flashed me a small smile in gratitude as I angled my wand subtly at Crabbe and Goyle to make them blonds. Soon, I had secretly disguised all of the students whose parents were Death Eaters, making it safe for them to fight.

Bellatrix cackled. "Wee little Potter thought Sirus Black was going to be at the Ministry? It was a trap, you idiot!"

"Bellatrix, hush! Now, Potter, hand me the orb," Lucius demanded.

"No," he refused, "And you can't attack me. Not without risking breaking the orb."

"I could torture one," Bellatrix suggested, pointing her wand at Ginny, "that might make him a bit more cooperative."

"Hurt my friends and I swear I'll drop it," he threatened. "I bet Voldemort won't like that."

"Shut up! How dare you speak his name you filthy half-blooded-"

"You know he's a half-blood, too, right? Yeah, his mother was a witch but his dad was a muggle. Or has he been telling you he's pure-blood?"

"STUPEFY!" Bellatrix shrieked.

Lucius shot a spell to intercept hers. "NO!"

Two prophecies shattered, speaking as the two Death Eaters argued. I could see Harry whispering to Hermione until Lucius had him caught up in conversation again. I was on the tips of my toes, ready for when the action began. The whisper was stealthily passed around until it reached me and I prepared my wand.

When Harry screamed, "NOW!" we pointed our wands at the shelves and smashed them to smithereens.

We bolted down the hallways, knocking death eaters and broken glass aside. Somehow, though, we ended up separated. The former Inquisitorial Squad, Meghan, Eleanor, Ron, Ginny, Luna, and I were together, but the rest of the DA was gone.

We slunk through the shelves, being as quiet as possible to avoid an ambush. Suddenly, a Death Eater rounded the corner and knocked Ginny down. She fell, shouting and we pointed our wands at the enemy.

"STUPEFY!" Meghan shouted.

More enemies ran our way, one hitting Ron with a spell I had never heard of before. We dodged and threw curses their way as Meghan and I helped Ginny up. Her ankle was clearly broken, but we all got away as fast as possible.

"Perfectus Totalus!"

"Expelliarmus!"

I dodged a disarming charm and aimed at a masked Death Eater. "Glacius!" With a burst of blue light, he was frozen in a block of ice.

We dashed down some more hallways, wands at the ready. Suddenly, I was hit with a knockback jinx and fell to the ground.

Ginny aimed her wand at the Death Eater. "Alarte Ascandre!"

The Death Eater flew back as I stumbled to my feet to get up and keep moving. Pansy shoved open a door and we toppled through, luckily meeting the rest of the DA in the brain room. Ron was babbling and tried to summon a brain, which promptly tried to strangle him. Harry saved him as the rest of us tried to shut the door. Unsuccessfully, I might add. A curse flung through, knocking out Luna, so now both she and Hermione were unconscious.

The situation was getting hopeless, and Harry knew it. He ran from the room, orb above his head to draw the Death Eaters away from us. But they had other things in mind. It didn't take long for one to seize each of us and apparate to the room with the arch, surrounding Harry.

The Death Eater that held his wand to my neck was masked, so I didn't know who it was. Beside me was Neville, held by Bellatrix. Across the room were Meghan and Eleanor, who both looked terrified. What were we going to do?

"The game is up, Potter," Lucius drawled, "give me the Prophecy."

Neville tried to make a break for it but was hit with the torture curse from Bellatrix's wand. Things were getting worse as Eleanor begged her to stop. Just then, there was a pop as the Order apparated into the room. Snape must have figured out where we were from his Occlumency lessons with Harry and let them know.

Spells and curses flew as we ducked down to avoid being hit. Neville, who had been cursed and lost control of his legs, was laying on the ground, whimpering. Meghan ran to help him as Eleanor and I went to Hermione and Draco got Luna. The battle raged on and I barely saw Harry drop the orb out of the corner of my eye as the other students and I ran for cover.

Dumbledore suddenly appeared, a welcome sight in such desperate times, as my friends and I made it out of the room and into a hallway. Everyone limped down it and sat down behind a few pillars, hidden from any Death Eaters peeking out of the room we were just in. Eleanor and I laid Hermione down beside Luna and Neville and pulled out wands.

"Use a healing spell," Meghan suggested.

"What healing spell?"

"Un-paralyze Neville, for starters."

"Just because I studied a bunch of healing magic in my spare time at Hogwarts doesn't mean I can fix everything! Why do you always assume I am the one that can fix it? Huh?

Maybe I don't know! Then what?"

"So, you don't know?"

"Well of course I know, that's beside the point!" I sighed. Stress made me stressed. Meghan and I always fought about literally nothing when we were stressed and each time we bounced the stress back during a fight, it increased tenfold. I needed to focus. I pointed my wand at Neville and said, "Reparifors."

Neville wiggled his leg. "I think it worked."

I turned to Ginny with the broken ankle and muttered, "Brackium Emendo."

A blue light appeared and Ginny sighed in relief. "Yeah, that's much better."

Eleanor held her arm up to me. It had a deep gash in it and I gasped. "El, when did this happen?"

"Right after the Order showed up."

I took her arm gently and with concern, saying, "Vulnera Sanentur."

The wound closed and the blood disappeared. "Thank you."

"Of course. I don't know what to do for Ron or Luna or Hermione, though. I have no idea what spells they were hit by and using the wrong healing spell could cause more damage. We'll just have to wait until Luna and Hermione wake up. Ron can be fixed by someone more skilled, hopefully."

***

My friends and I all recovered from our injuries in the hospital wing of Hogwarts, thanks to Madam Pomfrey. The only downside was that Umbridge, who had chased us into the woods after we fled and was attacked by centaurs, was also in a bed there recovering. But she never said anything. I think she was too distraught.

Later, we discovered that Voldemort had been present at the battle. Thankfully, none of us saw him or came close. The Daily Prophet was selling papers like nuts as it announced the return of Lord Voldemort.

Professor Trelawney came back to teach alongside Firenze and Hogwarts returned to normal.

Lucius Malfoy went to Azkaban, which Draco was a bit upset about, but mostly, he was concerned about his purple hair. I may or may not have jinxed him to keep it for a couple of days.

Hufflepuff got a lot more points from Professor McGonagall for exposing Voldemort, though Gryffindor got more and won both the house cup and the Quidditch cup.

Hagrid's job position was secure again and Umbridge was kicked out. Peeves hit her with a sock full of chalk and a walking stick the whole way out of the building. It was nice to see, to be honest.

The end of term was approaching in just days, so Eleanor, Meghan, and I helped Luna find all of her things that people had stolen (and hexed a couple of them, too).

Harry was very upset about the death of Sirius, and Hermione was some, too. I gave them both space to grieve.

It was funny how despite the story going a bit askew, it still turned out very similar to the original. I guess it was a way of the story righting itself.

I packed my bags the night before we left, looking sadly around the Hufflepuff dorms. The last thing I wanted to do was leave. To be a Hogwarts student, to do something exciting for once, it was all so captivating. Returning to the real world felt sickening. I'd have to go back to regular school, to my regular house, and Meghan and I wouldn't see each other as often. Plus, I have to say goodbye to my friends here.

Eleanor met my gaze, understanding. "It's okay, Abby, I'll see you next year."

"I know. But it's a whole year away." Actually, I didn't know. Nothing was certain.

Eleanor sighed, going over and taking my hand reassuringly. "I know. But we'll make it. Besides, won't it be nice to sleep in for the summer?"

"That's a good point."

The train ride home was much more fun than the one to Hogwarts because I knew the people in my compartment well and I didn't feel like I was pretending to be someone I wasn't or worried that I would mess it up or be too obvious. I was just me, my friends, my cousin, and a truckload of good memories.

I hugged them all goodbye at Platform 9 3/4, fighting back tears as Meghan and I walked away. I had to come back, I knew that much, and it all depended on protecting the portal under Storybook Island. Suddenly, it became so much clearer to me. That portal was everything. Without it, I'd never see my friends.

I'd protect it with all I had. No one would ever find it to use it poorly or take advantage of it. No one would ever destroy it. No one would ever misuse it. It was Meghan and I's secret to defend.

We stashed our things in a locker in the Hogwarts Express station that we rented until next September, just in case we entered The Halfblood Prince and our stuff was still here. Then, we were planning to head back to Number Four, Privet Drive to meet up with the portal, but it was behind the lockers, shimmering just out of sight.

I nudged Meghan. "Look."

"Huh. Maybe it appears at the end of the story, too, somewhere we can find it. That makes sense, right?"

"Yeah."

"Are you ready to head back?"

I sighed sadly. "No. But we can always return, right?"

"Right."

"Then let's go."

Meghan went first, transporting herself back to the world of reality. It took everything in me to step through the cool portal, washing in its magic as I fell through, tumbling back to Storybook Island.

**Author's Note:**

> Dudes I physically had to put in the brackets and slashes and letters because of a glitch on my computer on every. single. line. 
> 
> And yet I still did it. That's how much I love you guys.


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